When Ninjago Falls to Nightfall
by KaitheHotHead1
Summary: To Nya, Ninjago is the most beautiful place on Earth; the forest is lush, the beach is clean, and the townspeople are nice. But now everything has changed. They were left behind, and they are not alone. And they must defeat whatever is out there, or their lives will surely end. My twist on the book Nightfall by Peter Kujawinski and Jake Halpern. COMPLETED
1. Wall of Water

Nya stood near the edge of the cliff, the wind blowing fiercely, looking at the ocean. Since the years of Sunset had begun, the water had gotten darker, almost black. She wondered if this happened all the time. She had asked her parents and townspeople many more questions of Night, but nobody would talk of it. Perhaps it was just too mysterious to speak of.

There was a rustle in the bushes and leaves, and Jay comes bursting through the woods, panting.

"You're late." Nya said, barely looking at her friend. Although he has just used most of his energy running, he manages a smirk.

"Only a minute or two," he replies.

Jay was Nya's older brother Kai's friend more than her own. She met Jay through her brother over five years ago, when the years of Twilight was halfway over.

"Has the tide turned yet?" Jay asks Nya, and she shakes her head.

"No," she replies. "No, not yet. Did you bring the rope?"

"Yeah." said Jay. "Yeah, right here."

Jay turned his shoulder, letting his bag fall to the ground, and pulled out a thick rope, obviously made for climbing.

"So why do you want it?" Jay asked as Nya seized it from him.

"Well," Nya said. "As much as I know that the tide turning is a big deal, it's not what I've come to see. Frankly, I don't care much about it."

Jay turned to look at her, his eyebrow slightly raised.

"But you should," Jay said. "When the tide turns, that marks that we have to leave within two days. It warns us when-"

"I know that, Jay." Nya interrupts. "Can I just show you what I mean?"

Nya leaned forward in the air, and pointed downwards toward the side of the cliff.

Beneath the two was a glistening, frozen substance, that snaked down the cliff toward the bottom, like wax from a candlestick. Jay looked at it in awe, matching the expression that had formed on Nya's face.

"Wow…" Jay said. "That's amazing. What is it?"

"Hasn't anybody told you? That's ice, Jay." Nya said, excitement building in her voice. "Ice! Can you believe it?"

Nya unrolled the rope and dropped the end down the side of the cliff. Then without a holster, grabbed onto the rope and began to climb down. She looked up at Jay, who still stood at the edge, staring admirably at her.

"Well?" Nya asked. "Are you coming?"

With no hesitation, Jay seized the rope too, and climbed down behind Nya.

Nya climbs lower toward Jay, and closer to the ice. Once she's right next to him, she graces the ice with one hand, keeping another hand on the wall to support herself. The ice was a numbing cold, and Nya couldn't believe just how cold it was.

In Ninjago, because it has been Day, and the sun has been out for the past fifteen years, ice in this form was almost foreign to the townspeople. She had never seen ice in her life, except maybe in her water.

Then suddenly Jay's cries forced their way through Nya's trance.

"Nya!" Jay was shouting. "Nya! The tide!"

Frantically, Nya turned around, and behind her she faced a mountain of a wave, the dark waters gushing foam, and crashed into the side of the cliff.

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sounded behind the two. They both turn, and almost lose their balance from shock.

 **SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER. BUT IF I MADE IT ANY LONGER, IT WOULDN'T LEAVE ROOM FOR THE FUTURE ONES! THANKS AGAIN FOR READING, AND I HOPE YOU CONTINUE!**

 **SEE YOU SOON, AND PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **-KaitheHotHead1**


	2. Encouraged Laugh

There was a rumbling behind the two. They both turn, and almost lose their balance from shock.

A large tidal wave had formed, and is about to break. Sea spray had been produced quickly, and wets the cliff Nya and Jay hang from.

Nya could feel her hand and foot holds begin to become slippery, and it made it hard to hang on. Jay, on the other hand, had a rope to hang on to, and had already made it to the cliff ledge. He looked down after noticing Nya was no longer next to him.

Nya was struggling, and the wave was getting closer. Once it swept her away, she would surely drown, or at least hit her head on a sharp rock as she fell. _What was I thinking?_ Jay asks himself, feeling a twinge of panic take over. _I've got to help her._

But before Jay can bend down, and lend her a hand, the tidal wave has crashed against the cliff. Water soaks Jay's shoes as he watches in horror from where he stood. Water bangs against the side over and over again, and white foam has seeped onto the ledge. There was an unbelievably low chance that Nya could have survived that.

Then, just as suddenly as it came, the wave pulled back and sunk into the ocean once again. Immediately, Jay scrambles to the edge, and looks down.

And there she is; wet, soaked, and in a struggle to support herself on the rope. "Ugh. My knight in _shining_ armor!" Nya manages to call, an annoyed but humorous tone in her voice. Jay laughs, and sighs with relief as he grabs hold of the rope and pulls her up.

Nya pulls herself up once she was close enough, and rolls onto her back, trying to catch her breath. "Are you okay?" Jay asks, concerned. Nya nods, but says nothing.

Jay extends his hand toward her, and she takes it. "Thanks," Nya pants. She dusts her hands on her pants and looks at the ocean from which the almost fatal wave had been produced from.

"The tide has turned," she states. "We should tell the townspeople we should pick up the pace with the packing and cleaning. We now only have two days." Jay nods, and follows Nya while she dashes off into the woods again, toward the village.

* * *

Ninjago was a very peaceful place. Nobody was ever in a rush, the jobs were well paying, the townspeople were always kind, and the fruit keeper always gave a free apple to Nya, Jay, and Kai whenever they stopped.

But now that the last Twilight was about to end, and the sun was just several degrees from changing Ninjago into an icy prison, the town had an awful energy to it. Lately, everyone has been on end, especially Kai and Nya's parents. Every time the two siblings stepped foot in the house, they were always encompassed with chores and jobs. Most of them required scrubbing, cleaning, vacuuming, etc.

It was hard for Nya to comprehend the reason why it's required to prepare for Night in this way. According to her parents, everybody all over Ninjago have done the exact same thing to their homes, and it must be completely spotless. _"All houses must be without stain,"_ Mayor Dareth always said.

Now, Jay and Nya walk through town, Jay carrying the rope over his shoulder. Once Cole, Jay's nine year old brother, comes into sight, Jay smiles in greeting.

"Hey, how's my Lil' brother doing?" A playful, teasing tone sits in his voice as he greets his younger brother. "Are you holding down the fort okay?" Cole rolls his eyes, almost playfully. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Jay, so you can stop talking to me like one," Cole tells him. Ignoring him, Jay ruffles his hair, which Cole smooths back in place almost immediately.

Once the three walk in Jay's house, Nya blurts, "The tide turned,"

Cole whirls around instantly. "What? But we've barely started packing! There's still so much to do!"

"I know," Jay tells him calmly. "Which is why I'm going to be around more to help you." Cole still looks unconvinced, so Jay crouches down to his brother's height.

"Hey," he says softly. "I'll help you okay? Mom and Dad trusted me with you when they left, remember? They wouldn't have if they thought I wasn't capable, but I am. It'll be okay."

Cole nods, but doesn't say anything, and immediately, a wave of sympathy washes over Nya.

It's been almost two years since Cole and Jay's parents died. Their funeral was the worst moment she had ever lived through, and one look at Jay and Cole's face was enough for a large, fat tear to form in her eye.

Jay sends Cole off to his room, and as soon as his small feet disappear upstairs, Jay goes over to one corner and hands a towel to Nya. She gladly takes it, because she was still soaked from being caught in the water. Then, Jay speaks.

"Maybe it would be faster to warn everyone if we told Mayor Dareth. He may have a way to spread a message." Jay suggests. Nya nods in agreement.

"And who knows?" Jay asks. "Maybe it'll take his mind off of combing his hair, huh?"

Nya laughs at his joke, and Jay smiles wider. It was his most favorite sound in the world, especially if it was he who had encouraged it.


	3. The Parade and the Mansion

The streets were very crowded; the Parade of Honoring was in town. It was celebrated to honor those who have passed during the years of Night while on the Dark Island. Even people who, for whatever reason, got left behind in Ninjago during the years of Night are brought to minds of their loved ones.

This detail is probably the least important to Nya; it rarely happens, because nobody would ever be so foolish to miss the boats to the island.

Now, Jay and Nya walk through Jamanakai Village, glancing at the parade from time to time. Jay even makes a stop at a cotton candy stand, and buys two treats for both of them.

Immediately afterwards, Jay pauses, and looks straight ahead. He laughs, as he says, "Is that Kai in that apple tree?"

Hearing her older brother's name grabs Nya's attention. "What? Where?" she asks as she swirls her head around. But Jay points to the bare apple tree; one of many since the sun has begun it's set.

And there he was, watching the parade from the tallest fork in the tree. Nya calls his name, and he flinches but doesn't turn around. "Kai!" Nya yells again, and this time, Kai does turn around, but after a moment gives her a cold look before turning back to watch the parade. Jay stands beside Nya.

"Is he _still_ mad at you for what happened?" Jay asks, sounding astounded, although he had predicted so. She nodded, anyway.

"Well, it was pretty upsetting to him..." Nya mutters, a little bit to herself. Suddenly, she didn't want to talk about it; the incident that had happened not long ago had changed the sibling's relationship drastically.

Jay sees this, so he breaks the conversation, and grabs her hand tentatively. Nya doesn't pull away, thinking Jay is just comforting her.

But to him, the coldness of her fingertips and the softness of her hands made Jay almost completely melt. He had no idea what this feeling was that kept recurring, but he never wanted to let go of it.

"It's okay," Jay tells her. "Don't force it. He'll come around." Nya makes an unsure smile, nods, and Jay leads Nya to Mayor Dareth's mansion.

* * *

Mayor Dareth was a very conceited, dishonest, and a jerk of a person. He kept all of his trophies over his bed, and his bedspread was a picture of his face. The only reason why the pillows weren't the same was because Dareth idiotically fired the maid that manufactures his bed items because she had made his eyes brown instead of blue, like he wanted.

However, Mayor Dareth has proved to be a good mayor more than several times, although he is a major idiot. This is why Jay and Nya now trust him in appropriately delivering the important message around Ninjago.

The two walk to the end of the street, and stop at an end of a crosswalk. Right across from them was Mayor Dareth's amazing mansion, which was big, white, and seemingly tall enough so if one would climb to the roof, all they had to do was reach an arm's length to the sky and be able to touch the moon.

And to them, it looked just so.

Jay and Nya walk up to the gate cautiously; they were unsure of how the two guards would react to their unexpected visit. And it appeared they were right to be worried.

As soon as the two were in front of the gate, the two guards clashed their spears together, blocking their passage. "Um, excuse us," Jay says politely, but assertive. The guards don't budge.

Nya was much different in her approach. "Sirs, if you don't let us pass, I'll alert authority you are blocking passage to people with information of Night. Please let us through." Jay looked at his friend in surprise, as are the guards. They were not expecting a couple of kids having valuable information as such. The two guards unclasp their spears, while the one on the left presses the button next to him, unlocking the gate.

"Thank you." Nya tells them, and the two men tip their top hats. Jay and Nya pass through.

Once they're sure they're safe, the two burst out laughing.

* * *

"Who trespasses on Mayor Dareth's mansion?" a booming voice echoes through the halls, rattling a giant painting of said mayor, as soon as the friends stepped foot inside.

"Jay Gordon and Nya Smith, sir," Jay's shaky voice rings out. "We saw the tide turn, and we ask you to spread the message somehow to let people know." Suddenly, footsteps patter on the floor, and Mayor Dareth is revealed. He was cloaked in a brown robe- his favorite color - and his caramel hair was perfectly combed; in fact, he took out a comb at that moment, and brushed it right on his stairwell in front of them.

"You saw the tide turn, hm?" Mayor Dareth asks, walking down the rest of the stairs, then stopping. "Well, come inside and shut the door, you're letting the cold in!" Jay lets Nya walk in first, then closes the door.

"Now," the mayor continues. "Where were you when it happened? The wave must have been massive, from your points of view!" What surprised Jay and Nya the most was how genuinely interested the mayor was at hearing of their experience; for once, his attention had been directed quickly from himself to them. And just as well; Night was to be taken seriously.

"Well," Nya starts. "Jay and I were climbing the cliff when it happened. He wanted to get a better look at the ice, so we lowered ourselves down, and then the wave came."

At this, the mayor's eyes were wide in concern. "That wave could have killed you! Were you two alone?" Jay and Nya glance at each other, wondering what to say. Climbing alone, or even being in the woods alone was frowned upon, but neither of the children knew if it was illegal or not.

"No, we weren't. There was an...elderly man with us. But he ran off to do something, and we haven't heard of him yet." Jay let a lie slip between his teeth. Thankfully, the mayor was not that good with detecting lies from teenagers such as themselves, so he believed them.

"Okay, well, I'll keep an eye out for him, then." Mayor Dareth said, then stands up. Sensing their meeting has ended, the duo also stands. "Well, thank you, you two, for delivering this. I'll send letters to every doorstep in the area, letting everyone know. Good day."

Saying their goodbyes, they both walk out of the mansion, and past the gate. Then, they broke into a simultaneous run.


	4. A Terrible Grudge

The wind whipped Nya's hair and excitement filled Jay's body as they continued to run. Neither of them had any clues as to why they were doing something so unnecessary, but neither of them wanted to stop, either.

Because the two were going so fast, and they were having so much fun, it seemed like an instant before they were both standing in front of the fork road leading to either of their houses.

Rubbing his neck, Jay says, "Thanks, Nya, for coming with me." Nya smiles, making Jay smile wider.

"No need," Nya replies. "I had a lot of fun. That was my first time meeting the mayor, you know." A silence fills the air, but there was no awkwardness to it; that's what made Jay an easy friend to be with, to Nya. They could not talk for hours, but they could still talk about everything.

"Well, I'll have to see you later, then," Jay says, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I've been gone long enough. I have to help Cole with the packing at some point. We've barely started!"

Before Nya had a chance to control herself, she blurts, "I can help you sometime, when I get the chance," This earns a surprised look on Jay's face.

Nya's mother made it explicitly clear to her daughter it is frowned upon to spend time alone with a boy, especially a parentless boy like Jay, unless it was necessary, for errands like what the two visited the mayor for. She also spoke of their Uncle Pythor, who tried to care for them after Jay and Cole's parents died. It hadn't worked out, however, since he was an alcoholic and an absolute snake.

But Jay recovers, and replies, "Sure, I would love the help. You're really good with Cole, so he definitely won't mind." He makes sure to leave out the part about how she lights up his filthy house whenever she's inside.

"Great," Nya says. "I'll come when I've got the time."

Jay smiles at her, and she returns it. "See you, Jay," Nya calls, before hugging herself to hide from the cold, and she heads home.

Jay does the same, but for no reason, a big smile appears on his face, and an unfamiliar toon finds it's way into his head. He hums it, skipping along the gravel path toward his dilapidated home.

* * *

Nya's house, unlike her friend's, was grand and clean. It had two stories, marble floors, and three large bedrooms for herself, Kai, and her parents. They owned a house like this mostly because of Nya's father, Michael, who was both a blacksmith and a woodcarver. People all over Ninjago paid Michael a lot of money to create wood figures or furniture, or a sword for protection. He had a shop not far from their street.

Timbue, Nya's mother, on the other hand, worked from home and was a seamstress. She was the best in town, and even made clothes for the mayor himself, whether it be new robes, shirts, pajamas, and so on. She and Kai should know; they were always getting new brown thread from the shop when their mother had to create a new cloth for the mayor.

Nya walks through her front door and closes it behind her. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" she yells up the spiral staircase. Moments later, Timbue appears from behind the wall. She was dressed in a fashionable blouse, which was tied in a knot at the bottom, and capri pants rolled up halfway up her shin. Even when sweat lines her forehead, Timbue always found a way to look amazing.

"Great," she says. "Now go help your brother with his room since you're already done with yours,"

"Yes, Mom," Nya replies, and quickly hops up the stairs. Her mother grabs the broom and walks into the living room to sweep away the remaining dust from the floor.

Nya walks into her brother's room, where Kai was kneeled on the floor, putting his old toys in a garbage bag for storage. "Hey," she greets him, and he flinches. "Do you need any help?"

"Not from you," Kai tells her coldly, shoving a wooden train Michael made for him in the bag. But Nya kneels on the ground anyway, and puts the emptied toys in a second bag beside her. At first, Kai says nothing; his contorted face says it all. He doesn't want her here.

"So," Nya says, trying to lighten the awkward silence. "What were you looking at in the apple tree today?"

"The parade." he tells her, spite in his voice. "What else?"

Nya puts another toy in the bag, and Kai grabs her wrist and grips it so tight it turned white.

"Didn't I say I didn't need your help?" he asks her sarcastically, and tosses her aside, leaving her sprawled on the floor. She wasn't surprised at his behavior; she was hurt.

And very angry.

"Kai, when are you going to quit letting what happened ruin us?" Nya yells, getting up. "It was an accident!"

"The only accident that day was letting you come along!" Kai immediately yells back. "And I will begin letting it go when _you_ apologize!"

"I can not apologize for something that isn't my fault!" Nya fires back, and Kai gives an exasperated yell, and throws up his arms.

"You are so stubborn!" he yells.

"You're no better!" Nya shouts back. "You ran! You getting hurt was _not_ my fault!"

"You chased me off a _cliff!"_ Kai says. "How is that _not_ your fault!"

"I didn't tell you to run! I chased you so I could apologize!"

"You're a liar!" Kai throws over his wooden desk, another item Michael made, and it collided with the wooden floor with a loud _bang._ The long scar on Kai's left cheek, the only blemish on his face, seemed to shine brighter in fury. It didn't take long for their parents to appear at the door, worried. However, when they saw the noise was just a product of anger, the scolding began.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Michael yelled. "You're supposed to be packing!" The two siblings lower their heads; not out of shame, but out of suppressed anger for each other.

But it didn't seem enough for their parents. "Kids, whatever happened that day, it is destroying you!" Timbue tells them. "Please, just make up!"

"I will never make up with someone who won't apologize for what they did." Kai's infuriated and irate eyes meet with Nya's. Immediately, she wanted to cry.

She wanted to see Jay.

"Both of you, apologize to each other." Michael ordered. "If you don't, you will regret it. Trust me."

"Kai, do you have something to say to your sister?" Timbue looks at her son with pleading eyes.

Kai held his gaze with Nya, and quickly turns away.

"I have no sister."

Suddenly Nya was running, out of the house, and into the woods toward Jay's house. She could still hear her parents scolding Kai for what he said, but she knew him. He didn't feel at all sorry; it was what he felt, and he wasn't going to take it back.

And that made Nya's heart break more than anything.

* * *

Jay was making his bed when he heard the door slam.

"JAY!"

It was Nya.

And it was obvious she's been crying by the sound of her voice.

 _But why?_ Jay thought as he rushed into his kitchen. Immediately, though, he got his answer.

Kai.

As soon as he was close enough, Nya collapsed into a hug, something she very rarely does. She was a strong and independent girl who didn't need a man to tell her so, but in that moment, she was very vulnerable. Whatever happened between her and Kai took a big toll on Nya, and Jay felt touched she chose to see him in her time of need.

"I'm not Kai's sister anymore," Nya tells him, tears streaming down her face.

 _Oh no._ Jay thought, almost angrily. _Kai what have you done now?_

Jay leads her to his couch in the living room, and sits her down, his arm still around her trembling shoulders. Nya doesn't talk much; she hiccups sometimes, but continues to cry, and her tears wet Jay's shirt. He doesn't mind at all; as long as he was the only one there, supporting her, that was all he needed.

Nya drops her head onto his shoulder, and Jay holds her tighter.

And he continued to until she stopped crying.


	5. An Accident

**Six Months Ago**

One hundred and two degrees.

That was how hot Ninjago was that day, and that was exactly what pushed Jay, Kai and Nya to dash to the pond, which was at the edge of a clearing in the forest. School had just ended in order to give families enough time to begin packing and cleaning their houses, and would resume on the Dark Island.

At first, Jay and Nya were reluctant to go. Two days earlier, an ice cube had pierced Kai's eye while he had dug into the ice tray to make his water colder. He had burrowed a little too furiously, and the ice cube had flown from the tray and into his eye.

The town eye doctor told his family it had hit Kai's eye just right for it to take a while to heal. As a result of the incident, Kai now wears an eye patch on his right eye for the next three days.

But Kai had assured them it would be no problem going to the pond, so Jay and Nya reluctantly agreed.

The three reached the clearing, and the sight of the pond made the them do a double take.

The pond was large, and it stretched farther than either of them could see. Based on what their parents told them, the pond only came to an end when it reached the rapids, which then would lead into the open ocean.

The surface shimmered in reaction of the few remaining sun rays that existed behind the mountains, and the soft wind gave it ripples as well as a slight shake in the treetops behind the three. Nobody else in town had thought to come here for a respite to the heat like they had, so Kai, Jay and Nya had the entire pond to themselves.

It was Nya that gave a yell first, and ran in, diving into the water as soon as she reached it. Jay followed close behind, staying a second in front of Kai.

And for an hour, the three frolicked in the pond, trying their best at performing swan dives and cannonballs from the side. Jay surprised them with a rope he had brought, and he tied it to a low hanging tree. Both Jay and Nya used it to swing into the pond.

However, Kai stopped in the middle of their stay because water had gotten in his patch, and he decided to lie down on the flat rock next to where Jay and Nya were swimming.

"So, Nya," Jay said after the two had been swimming for a while. "Maybe we should explore for a while. Do you want to come?" Nya glanced at her brother, who had closed his eyes but hadn't fallen asleep.

"No thanks. I don't want to leave Kai alone." Nya said.

"He'll be fine," Jay had replied quickly. "He can take care of himself."

"No, actually, he can't." Nya's voice hadn't been at all unkind; more like in a matter-of-fact kind of way. "Ever since his eye was cut, I'm worried something else might happen to him. He's not as strong with one eye, you know. If something else happens, he's going to be just as helpless when we leave for the Dark Island."

Kai immediately bolts up, staring holes into his sister. It wasn't until Nya saw him that she realized what she said.

"Don't mind me," Kai says tightly. "I'm just a helpless idiot with a scratched eye!"

Before Nya could tell her brother that that wasn't at all what she meant, Kai stands up and dashes into the woods.

Nya and Jay chased after him, Nya shouting his name over and over again. But Kai had continued running, with only one eye working at the moment, not seeing the Ninjago Canyon not ten steps from him.

It was Jay who gave the last shout, trying to warn him of what was ahead.

"KAI! STOP! THE CANYON!"

But it was too late. Kai took his last step, slipped on a rock, and fell. He tumbled down, crashing into many rocks on the way, and landed on a narrow ledge about ten feet from the frantic faces of Nya and Jay. It had all happened so quickly that it took a moment for Kai to realize he was bleeding.

A few bruises had lined his arms, but his real injury was the cut on his left cheek, that would later turn into the only blemish on his face. The cut was deep and long, like it was slit open with the blade of a knife.

Suddenly, a rope appeared right in front of Kai, followed by Jay shouting, "Climb up!"

Kai quickly obeys, and in a minute, Nya's hugging him tightly, sobbing. But he pushes her off before she can even utter an apology.

Nya tried to speak to him, to explain what she had meant. "You misunderstood me!" she had said desperately more than once. "I was trying to express how difficult it is for you!"

Then Kai had fired back, "To do what? What is so difficult about me that you tried to expose to Jay about?"

Nya was silent for the rest of the walk home. But later, when she repeated her apology, he didn't even acknowledge her presence.

To Kai, Nya's pleas for forgiveness were just words. She had been so used to seeing her brother as the strongest and needing barely any help, and as a result looked up to him. But in those few days, she saw how vulnerable he could be when something important no longer was able to work. And to Kai, it seemed like she had little faith in him, and viewed him as weak.

That was what got him to eventually hate his sister.


	6. Stay Away From the Woods

**Present Day**

Jay and Nya were finishing cleaning Jay's house when Nya's parents finally arrived at the front door. Nya had contacted her parents and asked to stay and help Jay clean. Michael allowed it, and so did Timbue, reluctantly.

It had been much later; nearly five hours after Nya had run away. Cole had gone to sleep a while ago.

Michael immediately hugged his daughter tight, as if afraid she was going to run away again. Timbue was also happy to see Nya again, but was so distracted being disgusted of Jay's house that she didn't even remember to greet her.

"Nya. Nya, are you alright?" he asks after finally letting her out of his arms. "Are you hurt? Were you lost?"

Nya shakes her head, smiling. "No, Dad, I was fine. And Jay took very good care of me, and I helped him and Cole finish with their house." But Michael caught Jay himself turn pink in the face and narrowed his eyes; he was no idiot.

"Well, we're glad that you're safe," Timbue cuts in quickly. "We should get home, shouldn't we? There's still plenty of work to do in two days!" Michael rolled his eyes while Nya held back a scowl. It was blatantly obvious that Timbue doesn't like any house that isn't equivalent to absolute perfection, and Jay's house was extremely far from it. It was a quality that made Nya furious.

But nevertheless, she was right; packing was a necessity at the moment, and now was not the time to think of any other. The boats were arriving in only two days, and there were still a few rooms in Nya's house to clean and fix up. Knowing this, the three began to leave and say their goodbyes.

Before Nya was out the door with her parents, however, she stopped and turned to Jay.

"Thanks, by the way. For everything," she says. Jay rubs his neck and smiles at her.

"No problem," he replies. "And thanks for helping Cole and I clean up. We couldn't have done it without you," At that, Nya smiles, glad to hear a positive thing about her today.

Then before Jay could react, Nya plants a soft kiss on his cheek, leaving Jay's face beet red and his eyes wider than usual. And as quickly as the kiss had happened, Nya leaves and joins her parents outside. Jay touches his cheek, swearing he was never going to wash his face again.

* * *

Kai's eyes burst open to the sound of the wooden floorboard creaking. He bolts up, only to find himself looking into the eyes of a woman; a woman he knew. But it wasn't his mother or his sister. This woman had eyes of purple, and a voice so eerie that when it bounced off of the walls in Kai's room, it sent a shiver down his spine.

"Kai..." she said, flickering as if she was a hologram, then appearing across the room. "Stay away from the woods this Night Kai. Don't let them see you!"

Panic filled Kai's body. What did she mean?

Isn't he going to be on the boats?

Most of all, who was _them?_

The mysterious purple-eyed woman's figure glitched, and was beside Kai in a second, as if she teleported there instantly. "Hear me, Kai. You must not let them see you,"

"I don't understand. Who's they?" Kai asked, but her mysterious warnings were all that the woman would say. Her words faded out of Kai's mind, while his own heartbeat grew louder. What was happening?

"Stay away from the woods...don't let them see you..."

* * *

"KAI!"

Kai bolts up again, this time covered in sweat and his parents at his side. Their faces were full of worry, and sadness. "Did it happen again?" Timbue asks, and Kai nods, unable to say anything.

"What happened Kai?" Michael spoke next, his own voice calm, but worrisome. Kai shook his head panting and wiping his sweat on the sleeve of his shirt. After a full minute passes, Kai finally speaks.

"It...it was all so real," he says, which was absolutely true, just as always. His nightmare tonight was recurring, and had been happening almost every night. It had started around the time of the fight Kai had with Nya at the pond those months ago; when their relationship had first begun to fall apart.

Knowing their son wasn't in a state to explain to them about his dream, Kai's parents kissed him on the forehead and walked out of his room, shutting the door softly behind them. Outside of their son's door, Timbue and Michael exchange worried looks. His dreams have gone on too long to be a phase.

The two go back to bed, but don't fall asleep for hours.

* * *

Nya's eyes open slowly, and sits up yawning. Her entire room was completely spotless; the only thing needed to be fixed was her bed. Boxes of things that were found scattered around her floor sat in the corner, waiting to be opened in fifteen years, when Day began again.

Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, Nya stands up, stretching.

But when she got closer down the stairs to fetch breakfast for herself, she heard voices. Strange voices.

Nya peeks around the corner, glancing for a few seconds, then quickly turns away before she's caught spying.

It was the Mayor, and his top guards; she could tell by the hats the guards wore. Only they can wear the hat of that rank. But what were they doing here?

Timbue and Michael were there, and having a conversation with the three men at their door. Her parent's voices sounded even; perhaps it was nothing.

But Nya saw she was mistaken when the Mayor caught her eye, and gestured her forward sternly. It was then Michael and Timbue suddenly turned, startled seeing their daughter spy on them. "Nya! What are you doing?" her father asked as Nya walked toward them. But the Mayor spoke over them.

"Nya," Dareth says. "We need your help. It's very urgent."

"What is it?" she asks, concerned. Mayor Dareth almost never looks or acts this serious; whatever has happened must be extremely important.

"A boy is missing. He's disappeared, within the last twelve hours," Now the Mayor's guard spoke, his voice deep and straight, just like his expression. Nya could only feel bad for the missing boy, but something wasn't right.

"With all do respect, Mayor Dareth, what does this have to do with me?" Nya asks.

"You know him." he replies hesitantly.

"Who?"

"That boy you visited me with yesterday. Jay. He's missing."


	7. Dangerous Injury

"Jay?" Nya stares dumbfounded at the mayor, who just gave her the troubling news. "He's missing?" Immediately, her mind quickly tries to find any possible answer as to where Jay could possibly be, but failed.

"Yes," Mayor Dareth says gravely. "And my men and I just wanted to know if you had any idea as to where he is." He leans in closer, his eyes staring into hers. "Nya, we need you to think. Really think. It's too close to Nightfall for one to disappear. It's very important that we find him before the boats arrive tomorrow. Do you have _any_ idea at all as to where he is?"

Nya thinks back to the night before, when she had seen him last. None of her memories served her well or gave her any clues. After a full minute passed, she shakes her head disappointedly, much to the frustration of the Mayor and the guards. Desperation grew on the faces of all of them.

"Now Nya, when you last saw him, did he seem...angry? Upset? Did he mention going anywhere? Anywhere at all?" Mayor Dareth pressed on, and Nya could tell he was using a lot of energy to stay calm.

But now that she taught about it, Nya remembered Jay telling her he needed to collect Gamot, a medicine found on bushes that heals cuts, sores, or illnesses extremely quickly, and many villagers claimed it saved their lives. In fact, it was the exact thing that Kai applies to his scar on his face everyday. It kept it clean and any bacteria away, but the scar will never go away.

When Nya tells her assumption to the Mayor and his guards, the three nod in satisfaction. After thanking her, the Mayor and the other two men make a break for the woods.

Immediately after the men left, Nya bolts up the stairs to tell her brother of the troubling news.

* * *

Jay never felt fond of the woods. Leaves from bushes always pricked him in the legs, bugs and ants always ate at him or swarmed around him, and he always felt like he was being watched.

This was what Jay was going through at the moment, swatting at the mosquitoes around his head and slapping the ants crawling up his leg. He almost had to talk himself into continuing his 'mission', that it was all worth it.

He was not gathering Gabot. He had done that hours ago, and piles of it were in the suitcase he planned to take to the Dark Island. No, the reason why Jay was putting up with the pests of the Forest was for Nya.

The kiss she gave him the night before completely enchanted him. Jay had been pushed over the edge, and he was falling hard for her. The only thing he could ever hope was for her to at least remember him for this on the Dark Island.

That was why Jay was searching for the pond.

On the day Kai, Nya and himself swam in the pond and Kai fell off of the cliff, the two had been so distracted in being fearful for Kai's life that they hadn't noticed Nya's sapphire ring slip off as they were running to Kai's aid. It had been her family's heirloom, and she had been heartbroken when she realized it had fallen off. But now Jay has newfound courage to retrieve it for her, so she could perhaps pay special attention to him on the Dark Island.

Finally, the ground below Jay became mushy, signaling the pond wasn't far. Then just as Jay brushed aside a vine, he saw it. The surface no longer shimmered, since Night was much closer than it was all those months ago, and the sun was almost invisible now. That meant Jay had to concentrate even harder on looking for the ring; not much light was there to help him see better.

So Jay retraced his steps, trying to remember exactly how everything happened so he could perhaps find the ring easier. Closing his eyes, he envisions it, walking blindly forward. He recalled how fast Nya had been running, chasing after her brother.

Jay made a blind right, then a left. It had happened a while ago, so it was almost impossible to even guess where it could be. It occurred to him that perhaps someone had found it and traded it in for something else, and it was lost forever. But the thought of seeing Nya's overjoyed face and feeling her lips again kept him going.

He kept his eyes closed, trying even harder to remember and guess the location of the jewelry. And since he couldn't see, Jay didn't see the deep, old bear trap in front of him.

Jay screamed as he fell suddenly, startled, and landed about five feet from the top.

He wasn't badly hurt; nothing was broken. He could tell that much. His arm stung slightly, and felt liquid slowly run down from his tricep. When Jay glanced at it, he discovered a deep cut about as long as his third finger. He cursed under his breath; he stupidly hadn't packed a first aid kit in case something like this happened. Of course bear traps would still be around from two Nights ago. Bears may no longer be around in Ninjago, but that hadn't meant the traps would be filled.

Jay sighs, scolding himself for being so foolish. Nya could never feel the same as he did for her, so how could he even hope so?

He bangs his head on the wall behind him, feeling tears run down his cheek. Cole must have already discovered he was missing and told the Mayor. They must all be looking for him. But judging by his arm, he won't be able to climb out of the hole by himself. If Jay had thought to bring a rope, he could climb out at that moment, but the thought of Nya blinded him.

Bringing his knees to his chest, Jay cries. Warm and salty tears melt into his mouth, and the bitter feeling of loneliness finds it's way into his body, making everything all the worse.

Now the only thing Jay could hope to wish for was the Mayor finding him eventually before the boats arrived.


	8. Revived and Left Behind

Panicked and rushed noise filled the docks as the people of Ninjago struggled to shove their luggage onto the boats. It was close to chaos; there seemed to be too little boats to fit everything, so everybody had to leave one bag behind. They had to get more supplies on the other island.

Cole feels a muscled arm around his slumped shoulders, and when he turns, he sees the troubled face of Nya.

Jay still hadn't turned up. He's been missing for over twenty-four hours now, and the Mayor thinks he may already be dead. But Nya, Kai or Cole refused to believe that. They could never accept that their friend was dead, and they were positive he was out there. But not knowing _e_ _xactly_ where discouraged the three friends.

Suddenly, an unexplainable tingling sensation ran up Kai's spine, making him almost shiver. But then his senses reacted, and a female voice rang in his ears.

Mysteriously, this is not the first time this happened, so Kai was not at all startled or frightened. However, he was confused. What did the voice have to say this time? And why now, when they were about to prepare to board the boats?

 _"Darling,"_ the mysterious voice says. _"The woods...go to the woods..."_

"What?" Kai asks, snapping the attention of both Cole and Nya. Ignoring their confused stares, Kai continues to listen to the voice.

 _"He's in the woods...he needs you...he needs you all..."_ she says, and Kai feels a head rush, signaling whoever was just in his mind had left. After collecting himself, Kai stands and walks to the woods.

"Kai!" Cole calls. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to find Jay," Kai replies, as if it's the most natural thing. "Are you coming?"

Cole smiles in reply, and begins to follow until Nya drags him down by his arm. "Wait," she says. "We need you to stay here."

The young boy's smile disappears instantly. "What? Why?" he asks with a whine. "I'll be okay! I can handle myself!"

"I know you can," Nya tells him calmly. "But Kai and I need you to stay here and cover for us. If we don't come back soon, don't come after us. Got it?" After a moment of pouting, Cole nods.

Not wasting any time, Nya jumps up and runs toward Kai, and followed him into the woods.

They had to find Jay before it was too late.

* * *

Jay still sat at the bottom of the bear trap, barely alive.

He had been bleeding for the past twenty-four or so hours, and consciousness had been seeping from his body with every passing minute; Jay was losing blood that only either a doctor or the medicine Gamot could fix now, and neither were anywhere nearby. So far, Jay was doomed to a fate of a shortened destiny, and he wasn't sure if he's accepted that yet.

But he doesn't have much of a choice anyway.

Tears form again, swimming down his cheek slowly, like rain on a window. He had so many regrets and unfulfilled wishes, like climbing the tallest tree in Ninjago, driving his first car, hang gliding, and cliff diving.

But most of all, he had wished to kiss Nya, and he had dreamt of it since the moment he met her. Jay regretted greatly not finding the courage to tell her how he feels. And now he was about to die, and she wasn't even interested in him more than as a friend.

The slow-moving tears quickly turn into sobs as Jay realizes exactly what he's gotten himself into. And for the first time, there really is no way out. If only he hadn't been so foolish. If only he had thought more carefully instead of letting a fantastic thought cloud his judgement.

If only he wasn't about to die.

Jay feels his body beginning to slack and breathing slowing. He could feel his life force draining from him, and there was nothing he could do about it. He was foolish, and he wouldn't be sitting here, dying at the bottom of a pit he got himself stuck in, and alone, if he wasn't.

Jay leans his head back, reluctantly accepting his fate. Perhaps in the next life he could do better, and maybe not be so foolish to cause his own death.

He closes his eyes, and feels his figure being lifted up. It felt like a force had wrapped itself around his waist and was pulling him out of the hole, out of his body.

"Jay! Jay, wake up! Please!"

* * *

"Jay! Jay, please wake up! You gotta wake up!" Nya yelled at Jay's body. She shook his figure again as soon as Kai laid him in the dirt. He had already given up hope and was already tearing up at the loss of his best friend. Nya was crying too, but refused to give up on Jay. She could never accept he was gone, even if he really was.

But it was getting harder to convince herself Jay was still alive; it was obvious the cut on his arm was infected, and he had suffered a lot of blood loss. His appearance was also troubling; his skin was very pale, and his eyes simply refused to even flutter. He felt limp in her arms.

Beginning to panic, Nya rushes off into the woods; at this point, there was only one thing that could save Jay.

She comes to a screeching halt when she sees it; the bush that produces Gamot. Little was left, but Nya knew it was just enough to help him. But she really had to hurry.

Nya sprinted back to where Kai and Jay were, and wasted no time in ripping up the Gamot leaves and almost shoving them into Jay's mouth. Then, grabbing the top of his head and the bottom of his chin, Nya made him chew it. Through all of this, Kai watched his sister vigorously trying to save his life with an uncertain and heartbroken look. Jay was gone, Nya was just unable to handle it.

Once Nya saw that the Gamot was chewed up, she picked up a sharp stick and presses it firmly into Jay's abdomen, about six inches above his belly button. Sure enough, a wave in Jay's throat appears, signaling the trick had worked and made him swallow the medicine. A wave of relief washed over Nya.

Suddenly, a gasp fills the air as Jay's eyes fly open, and he coughs exceedingly, but he was _alive._ Kai could barely believe what he had just witnessed; he had been so sure that Jay had been dead!

To Jay himself, he felt spectacular. He suddenly had so much energy and adrenaline that he felt he could run around Ninjago without ever getting tired. He felt _alive,_ and until now, it had seemed so mediocre because he never paid any attention to it.

Suddenly, everything around him seemed all the more beautiful; the bare trees were now spectacular, and the dirt he was laying on felt like clouds. And when Jay glanced at Nya, he felt himself fall in love all over again.

Her black hair shined brighter than before, and her brown eyes showed more beauty and tenderness than a butterfly. She was so alluring, Jay thought he was going to faint again.

Kai snapped him out of his trance by extending a hand to him. Jay smiles and takes it, and when he stands up once again, he slightly wobbles since he lost a lot of blood. But luckily, the Gamot, which Jay could tell one of the siblings made him eat, was now in his body. And if any of them learned anything in health class, Gamot has the ability to produce blood cells.

In fact, Jay was feeling it beginning to work. It was a miracle such a thing like Gamot existed.

As the three make their way through the woods, an unsettling thought occurs to Jay. "Um, where's Cole?"

"He's back at the docks waiting for us," Kai answers.

But Nya was worried. She had been so concentrated on Jay that she hadn't realized how long she and Kai spent away. All she could hope now was that somebody is going to hold the boats for them, but she greatly doubted it.

As Jay watched Nya walk, he pondered whether this was the best time to do it; finally telling Nya exactly how he felt, but he didn't prefer her big brother standing right there. He knew he had to; if not now, when? On the Dark Island? When would Jay even have the time to think about that? There'd be school, and other things to worry about. And without the ring...

"Stop."

A horizontally extended arm halted Jay and Nya from going any further. Kai stares at the scene before him with disbelief, and he feels an empty pit in his stomach, growing to the size of a melon.

They were at the docks, exactly where he and Nya were not two hours ago. But now it was dead silent, and both open and closed suitcases lay askew everywhere.

Most importantly, the boats were gone.

"Hey," Jay says, looking around. "Where is everybody?"

"Th-they're gone," Nya chokes out. Jay's face pales, almost looking like he had when he was unconsciousness.

"...then where's Cole?" he asks. "Where is my brother?"

But neither Kai or Nya had the heart to tell Jay where he was; on the boats, probably already several miles offshore. But although Cole is gone, it wasn't the most important thing at the moment.

What was the most crucial detail and the fact in the matter was they were left behind. And they were alone.

And there was nothing they could do about it.


	9. Spreading Panic

Nya sprinted to the shoreline, the water barely licking the front of her sneakers. Placing her hands on either sides of her mouth, she begins yelling in hopes of the people on the back of the departing boats could hear her. But the horizon remained dark and fog was still all that remained there. They weren't coming back.

But Nya was never one to give up so easily. She ran away from the shore and toward the forest once again. Quickly, she made her way through the trees before she arrived at the cliff; the same one, in fact, that she and Jay had climbed together to take a glance at the ice a few days ago.

Nya climbed to the very top of the tallest tree closest to the edge of the cliff. And there they were; the dozen boats sailing away from her like a fleet. Excitement filled Nya; perhaps they could all be saved after all.

"Mom! Dad! We're here! Come back!" she yelled, hoping someone, _anyone,_ would pay heed to her. But every single visible figure kept their heads facing straight ahead. Nya's shouts were useless.

She continued to yell from the top of the tree until her voice grew hoarse. But Nya knew when she'd been beat. Reluctantly, she climbed down.

Nya lands in the dirt once more and turns to Kai and Jay, who had followed her. She sighs. "Sorry. They're not coming back," Nya tells them, and she watched as Kai's shoulders simply slumped while Jay's eyes turned wild.

"But...but they have to!" he says, panicking. "My brother is on that boat!"

"Jay, we're sorry," Kai tells him, and places a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, but Jay shoves it away bitterly.

"No," he tells Kai. " _You_ did this! You left my brother alone!" Anger was spawning in Jay's eyes, and it was troubling to Nya.

"Jay." Nya says sternly. "It's not Kai's fault. _I'm_ the one who left him alone, okay? But it was only because we had to save you!"

In a sarcastic gesture, Jay throws up his hands. "Well, you guys sure did a great job of _that_ , didn't you? Because now we're _all_ stuck here, and we're _all_ going to die. So great job, guys! Keep up the amazing work!"

Of course, everything Jay said overflowed with sarcasm and anger, and it annoyed Nya so much that she slapped Jay hard in the face.

Jay stumbled back a step, his own hand clapped on the spot Nya hit him. He looked up to see the very angry face of Nya, and she was staring bullets into his very soul. "Talk like that again, and we won't save you next time. Clear?" Nya told him, and Jay nods meekly.

"Good," she says. "Because we don't have time for this. Twilight is close to ending, and once Night hits, it's going to be cold and dark. We have to rest somewhere so we can figure out our next move."

Kai thought quickly.

The Mayor had the most knowledge about Night; as he should, for if something were to happen, like the boats didn't arrive in time before Night officially came, then he could keep the people safe and know what to provide. Maybe his sources were hidden somewhere in his mansion. The information would be vital, especially in their situation. He explains this to both Jay and Nya.

"Great," Nya agrees. "We should go, then. I can already see the Moon coming up from the mountain. We have to hurry."

* * *

The Mayor's house was dark and lonely. Everything was buried in coverings and sealants, probably to protect it from the ice.

It was also extremely cold, and all three shivered as they walked into the house. Nya could feel the coldness of the marble floor beneath her boots, and saw the frame with the picture of Dareth begin to spawn ice.

Jay glanced at Nya as the three friends made their way up the staircase. He felt horrible for having said ungrateful things to her and Kai; they had to do what was necessary to save his life.

He was about to apologize when Nya abruptly stopped in front of a closed door. And because of it's large and grand design, Jay could tell it was the Mayor's own room.

Kai looks at his sister, confused. "What is it?"

"There's a note," she replies, and Jay hears the excitement in her voice. "But it's too dark. I need some light,"

"It's okay," Kai says. "I can see it."

Nya steps aside, giving Kai room to read the note. Written neatly, Kai saw there was only one word of advice.

 **HIDE.**

* * *

The boy sprinted through the woods, most of the time keeping his eyes on the ground below him so he doesn't trip on any roots.

Cole had disobeyed Nya. He had covered for her and Kai while they searched for his brother as promised of course, but at the last moment, he had dashed into the woods, thinking they needed help.

But now he was lost, and alone. Cole knew all too well the boats had left him behind, but the question that made him sick to his stomach was if he was left behind _alone._ What if Kai and Nya had found Jay, and he didn't see them board the boats? He would be alone with nobody to rescue him.

The thought scared the young child so much he pushed it out of his mind; fear was not going to help him. He knew that much.

Cole continued to run, concentrating only on the thought that he was not alone; that his brother and Kai and Nya were here and he had to find them.

He lost his footing, and Cole tripped on a large protruding root and fell into the dirt. Not hesitating, he lifted himself up again and continued running. "Jay!" Cole began to yell, hoping to receive an answer. "Kai! Nya! I'm here!"

But all that responded the boy was an eerie, dead silence. It sent a chill down Cole's spine, and a disturbing pit in his stomach. He had to find his brother and his friends. He just had to.

* * *

"Hide?" Nya squinted and read the note again. "From what? We're the only ones here,"

"Let me see," Jay says, and Kai obeys. He flips it over and squints more times than he himself could count. But that was all that the little slip of paper said. "This has to be some kind of a joke."

"I don't think it is." Kai tells him. However, he takes the paper and crumples it into a ball. "Let's not think about that right now. What we need is a plan. It's getting dark, and much colder."

"Agreed," Nya replies. "We should rest. We've had a really long day." She gestures to the door from which the note had been taped to. "And our best bet is probably the Mayor's room."

Kai opens it for the three of them, and closes it behind him once they've entered the room.

It was large, which wasn't surprising, and neither was the fact that almost everything had a hint of brown to them; the curtains, the bedspread, the walls.

On the far wall, there was yet another door, which lay next to the Mayor's large dresser. Jay walked over, curious, and cracked it open. The sight was very unpredictable.

In the center of the room was a small pool, complete with a pool net and towels hanging on the wall. Steam rose out of the pool, signaling it was also heated. Nya and Kai joined their friend out of curiosity, and their eyebrows arched. "I can't believe the Mayor has an indoor heated pool," Kai says, rolling his eyes.

"I can," Jay replies. "It was probably a rule, besides to have his face on everything."

Nya chortled and went forward, dipping her hand into the pool experimentally. "It's warm," she reported. "Borderline hot,"

Seconds later, Jay was beside her. It took Nya a second to realize Jay was slipping off his shirt and pants, leaving only his undershirt and underwear on his body as clothes. She turned away to hide her blush; there was something unnerving about seeing her friend almost naked.

"Great," Jay says. "I'm freezing. Nearly dying at the bottom of a pit can do something to you,"

Kai and Nya watched as Jay lowered himself in the four-foot deep pool, and he rested his head against the edge.

Jay felt the heat caress his skin and warm his blood. The cut on his arm suddenly didn't seem so painful, and he almost forgot about it.

The water brought feeling to his clothes and color to his face, and Jay began to close his eyes.

Nya was right; it had been a long day.


	10. There's Something Out There

Kai's eyes snapped open suddenly, panic in filling his mind. He had heard something; felt a presence. It was unnatural, but definitely not unfamiliar.

The sound of bending wood confirmed his fears as he sat up and looked toward the door. It was open, and the board and nails Nya had locked the door with the night before were now pried off. But it was done without a hammer; somebody with inhumane strength had ripped it clear off.

 _"Kai..."_

As predicted, the woman appeared, dressed in a loose, flowing gray dress. Her face was fair, and her purple eyes flared bright enough to light up the area where she stood. Kai looked to the side of the room to warn Jay and Nya of the imposter, but they weren't there. They had disappeared.

 _"Kai, look at me."_ Kai jumped, startled; the woman was suddenly staring into his eyes, barely inches away from his nose. _"Heed my warning, Kai. Do not step foot into the woods once the sun sets._ _I do not want to be the one to end you."_

"End me?" Kai repeats, voice cracking. "What do you mean?"

But the woman refused to answer. She simply pulled away and caressed Kai's scarred cheek, making him tense up. A small smile came to her thin lips as she moved away from Kai, repeating her warning.

 _"Don't go into the woods, Kai. Don't let them see you. I don't want to be the one to end you..."_

* * *

Kai bolts upright suddenly, panting hard. It took him almost an entire minute to realize it had been a dream.

He slows his breathing back to normal as he sees it really _had_ been a dream; Jay and Nya were safe and sound, sleeping on either sides of the room. And the wood and nails on the door that had been pried off were still there. None of it had been real.

He lays his head back on the pillow, his nerves trying to calm themselves. But it was nearly impossible with the dream fresh in his mind.

Sweat began to fall from his forehead, and Kai wiped it off with his sleeve. It had suddenly gotten hot, which was ironic since Night provided the coldest weather. But with the uncomfortable sweat came a big pounding in his heart, and Kai immediately knew something was not right.

* * *

Nya wakes up quickly to Kai's poking finger. "What is it?" she asks groggily. But as she looks up at her brother, she could tell that something's happened.

"I think there's someone downstairs," Kai whispers to her, and Nya's eyes widen. "What?" she asks, and Kai quickly covers her mouth.

"Listen," Kai tells her, and Nya shuts up. At first, everything was quiet, and Nya began to believe Kai had been mistaken and almost told him to go back to bed. But just then, a deafening and powerful blow collides with the door, and a nail in the board whizzes past their heads. Nya screams, which wakes Jay up.

"Nya!" he says, almost shouting. "Are you okay? What's happened?"

As if responding, another blow crashes from the other side of the door, and Jay jumps up, startled. Nya runs to the other side of the room, gets behind the old wardrobe, and begins pushing it. Immediately, the other two boys help her, and they all push the entire wardrobe to the pounding door. Kai presses his weight against the closet, and Jay and Nya join him.

But the figure kept pounding and pushing from the other side, and already the wardrobe was beginning to slide a few centimeters. Whoever was behind the door had inhuman strength, and more importantly, they were trying to get in.

The three teenagers continued pushing and shoving the wardrobe into the door, blocking the villain's way in, but the fear spread between them.

It's only a matter of time.

However just then, everything became eerily quiet. The pounding had stopped, and none of the three dared to make a sound.

Just when they thought they were safe, though, a thunderous grinding sound vibrated the entire room, making everything wobble. Kai screamed and covered his ears, in pain of the sudden noise. Suddenly, his ears felt vulnerable. The noise stopped as quickly as it started, and everything was quiet again.

"Wait," Jay says. "Listen. I think it's walking away,"

Nya pressed her ears against the door. He was right; the sound of footsteps retreating were heard very clearly. She turns back to the boys nodding her head, confirming that Jay's words were true.

They were all safe. But it didn't have to be spoken nor guessed that whatever was just there was coming back. And this time, they were going to bring backup.

* * *

Cole wakes up on the dirt in the woods, where he had fallen asleep. He had been calling for his brother and friends for almost three hours, and had gotten no response. It was disturbing to be alone in such an environment, especially with Night merely hours away from officially beginning.

A rustling in the bushes ahead made Cole snap fully awake. "Hello?" he calls out. "Who is it? Do you need help?"

Hesitating, the little boy gets up onto his feet and cautiously makes his way to a bush, which was now silent.

"...hello?" Cole says.

But just then, he feels a furry hand over his mouth and nose, and everything goes black.


	11. The Sheathed Knife

Cole wakes up on hard stone floor, sprawled out in the darkness. It was cold, and the young boy's teeth chattered. He stands up, trying to regain balance, his head pounding like crazy.

 _Where am I?_ Cole thought, looking around. But he couldn't see much since barely any light sifted through. All that he could tell was he was in a cave, and very deep inside of it. But the location of the cave was what Cole puzzled about.

 _"So you're awake..."_

Cole jumps at the sudden voice and turns around.

A woman comes out of the light, holding a candle so the boy could see her face. She was tall and lean, and her face was not only smooth and beautiful, but also adorned in fur. It wasn't so hairy to make it like Bigfoot, but enough to know she wasn't human at all.

 _"You've been asleep for quite a while, you know."_ she says.

"What do you want from me?" Cole asks. "Who are you?"

 _"I don't want anything from you,"_ she replied. _"I was protecting you. Hiding you. You, you foolish boy,_ _were out in the open, yelling your voice out. Do you know of the danger you are putting yourself in?"_

"What danger?" Cole demands. This woman was being too cryptic, and not to mention kidnapped him for a reason she isn't being clear about.

 _"The danger of my family,"_ the woman told the young boy. _"If they had woken up to the sound of your screaming for your friends, then you would be dead by now. You should be thanking me instead of interrogating me."_

"Okay, fine." Cole says. "Thank you. But I don't need rescuing. I can make it fine on my own, you know." The young boy flexes his rather large triceps at the woman. "I'm the strongest in the fifth grade!"

 _"Don't be so cocky,"_ she warned. _"My little brother can probably kill you with two punches."_ That shut the boy up.

She chuckled and ruffled Cole's hair. As a reflex from when his brother did the same thing, he fixes it once again. But thinking of his brother only brought sadness and sentiment. He still didn't know if Jay was even _alive,_ or perhaps on the boats, frantically looking for him.

As if reading the boy's thoughts, the woman bent down to his height and looked him straight in his dark brown eyes. _"Your friends are here, you know."_ she told him, and Cole felt the pit in his stomach sink away.

"Really?" Cole asked excitedly, and she nodded.

 _"They're in the mayor's house, gathering supplies and sleeping there."_ the woman told him, but her face grew grave. " _But they won't be for long; I feel an evil presence trying to get them out."_

At this, Cole's eyes widened. "I have to save them!" he says, almost yelling, and the woman covers his mouth with a furry hand once again. Cole looked to the side and his heart quickened in fear when he saw long talons not much bigger than a grown man's third finger.

 _"Boy, you'll die in minutes if you go hunting for them alone,"_ she told the anxious boy. _"You're too loud; you're going to wake up my father."_

"I'm not scared of him." Cole replied and the woman stared bullets into his eyes.

 _"...you should be petrified."_ Her voice was eerie and heavy with warning and fear. Cole lowered his eyes to avoid her gaze, but did not stop speaking with bravery.

"If he's so bad, then come with me." Cole counter argued, knocking the woman off-guard. "My friends wouldn't mind you if you tell them you're not a bad guy, and nobody can really _make_ you come back if they realize you're missing,"

 _"Yes, they_ can _make me come back."_ she told him. _"And your friends would mind. Look; I look like a_ _monster."  
_

"No you don't." Cole said, looking up. "You look just like me, but with a little fur. My grandma used to have fur on her chin, but my family still loved her,"

At this, the woman suddenly changes her expression briefly, with a small smile and a chuckle, only for it to shift back to the characteristic serious eyes. _"I'm sorry. My answer is no. I can't come with you."_

Cole's lips straightened in a disappointed thin line. "That's too bad." he told her.

 _"You should go."_ the woman muttered. _"But know this. If you get captured by my father I won't be there to get you out."_

"I get it." Cole replied, smiling, and began to walk out of the cave.

 _"Wait,"_

Cole turned toward her again.

 _"The evil presence...I recognize it."_

"Who?"

* * *

Kai couldn't sleep.

His mind was focused on the recurring nightmares that haunted him, and in the back of his head, he knew they meant something important. And on top of that, the creatures are coming back, and with more like them. It was extremely difficult to hold one back; what if more came? What would happen then?

Thoughts swirled around the male teenager as he lay awake on his couch, worrying. Worrying about his safety and his life; not to mention Jay's.

And most of all Nya's.

This made Kai sigh even more. Because above all things, he still loved his sister, but he was too angry and stubborn that it clouded everything. Kai knew he had a sister. One that he loved. He was wrong to tell her he didn't.

Kai looked at Nya, who was sleeping with her eyes squeezed shut. He supposed she wasn't sleeping well either. He continued to look at her, and with longing; not how Jay does, but longing for everything to be normal again. For the two to stop bickering and be in the same room without creating any tension.

But the moment was suddenly ceased when a tingle rushes through Kai; the same one that told him to look for Jay in the woods the day before. And now it was telling him something different.

 _"He's coming...Cole...he's heading towards you. Wait for him outside, and keep your wits about. Send Nya to look for food, and Jay to collect firewood. Now."_

And just as before, a rush rippled through Kai's body, as if it flowed right out of him. Immediately, Kai bolted up and shook both Jay and Nya awake. They had no trouble of doing so; being awake was easier than staying asleep.

"Guys," Kai started, then hesitated. He was unsure if he wanted to tell them about his strange 'rushes', and about the valuable information that came with it. Kai didn't know how he would explain it.

"...guys, we need firewood and some food. We're running out." Kai tells them instead.

"So?" Nya asked.

"So I need _you_ to get the food," Kai tells her, pointing to Nya. "And Jay to get the firewood."

"Why don't _you_ go?" Jay asks, suspicious. "You're just going to stay here?"

"Yes," Kai replied, almost stern. "I need to watch over the house so those creatures don't steal our stuff while we're gone. I'm going to stay here."

Knowing Kai is never going to tell the two any differently, Jay and Nya don't say anything else of the argument. "Fine." Jay replied, and turned to Nya.

"I'll walk you out. Let's meet back here in an hour?" Jay asked her, and she nodded.

"Sure." Nya said. And Kai watched the two walk out the door, with sacks from the corner of the room, and close it behind them.

* * *

Nya split ways with Jay outside in the crisp but cold air. She looked to the mountains, where the sun still remained in the same spot; at least, until about a day or two later.

She walked down the path and in the empty street. The person-less town made Nya develop a pit in her stomach and tears into her eyes. It was all a reminder that they were left behind, and everybody else that she loved were on those boats. And there was nothing to bring them back, or to bring the three friends to them.

But Nya shook her head free of those thoughts; they weren't going to help them get off of Ninjago.

Nya entered the sidewalk that outlined the base of many stores and restaurants. And Nya knew that some of them aren't locked; she knew both the town and the residents very well.

So after about fifty minutes, Nya's sack was full. She was about to head back to the room when a noise thundered across the street.

Running footsteps.

Somebody was coming.

Panicking, Nya hid behind a pillar in a wall, and she took out her sheathed knife. She had swiped it from the mayor's house, ignoring why Mayor Dareth would keep something like this.

Slowing and calming her breath, Nya holds the sheathed knife close to her chest, ready to strike as soon as the creature came close enough. And she could tell it wouldn't be for long before it was; his footsteps were getting louder, and his heavy panting was too.

Timing it just right, Nya pivoted and struck the creature as hard as she could, feeling her weapon hit something rather hard and solid. The body fell to the ground, rolling around and groaning.

Nya looked down to see it, but gasped with horror. This was no creature. He wasn't even an enemy.

"...Zane?"


	12. The New Guest

Kai waited patiently outside of the Mayor's mansion for Cole to show up. The air around him felt crisp and slightly cold, but for some reason, it didn't bother Kai at all. He actually loved the wind in his slightly spiked brunette hair; normally, he despised the cold. But now, it seems like he barely feels it at all.

It has been almost an hour since he sent the two to collect food and wood; of course it had only been a distraction. But what was slightly bizarre was what had told him to do so; a strange voice in his head that didn't seem to go away. And it was beginning to make Kai nervous and curious.

Ever since the voice had entered his head, and the terrifying and cryptic nightmares began, Kai has been borderline obsessed trying to figure out what was happening. The dreams were too recurring to be normal, and the Rushes in his mind were too real to ignore.

Suddenly, the sound of a snapping branch echoes out of the woods, snapping Kai's attention. "Who's there?" Kai asks after a moment, cautiously. "Come out, or I'm coming in!"

A rustle of leaves. The sound of heavy panting. Kai wondered how he could hear such faint noises from almost half a mile away from the woods.

And out came Cole, running faster than Kai had ever seen anyone do so. "Kai!" Cole called, and Kai could hear the boy perfectly. "It _is_ you!"

Kai beams, relieved to see the boy. It felt great to see another person he could trust; in their situation, it was almost vital.

Cole runs into Kai's arms, hugging him tightly. "Kai!" Cole exclaims. "It's great to see you! You have _no_ idea what I've been through."

Kai chuckles at this. "Right back out you," he replies, letting the small boy free. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be on the boats headed for the Dark Island. Do you know how worried your brother has been?"

"Jay's alive?" Cole asked, his misty eyes wide. "How is he? Is he okay?"

"You'll be able to ask him yourself in a few minutes," Kai tells him, and Cole's face lights up even more. He had been so worried for his brother ever since he had gone missing a few days ago, that something terrible had happened to Jay and Cole would never be able to see him again.

"In the meantime," Kai says, leading the boy toward the Mayor's mansion. "Let's get you inside, before you catch a cold. In the situation we're in, that's the last thing we need." Cole chuckles. Night was days away from officially beginning, and it was not the best time to still be in Ninjago, not to mention left behind.

Caution was an important tool they all had to have.

* * *

Jay hugs the collection of sticks and logs closer to his chest as he bends down to grab another.

It had been about an hour since Kai sent him off to get firewood, and Jay was about to head back. But first, there was something he had to do. And if he didn't do it now, with everything that was happening, Jay doubted he would be able to again.

He made his way through the woods, staying cautious for anything that would be of danger to him, and although it didn't help that it was almost completely dark out, finding what he needed was going to be easy.

Finally, Jay spotted it; a bush a different shade of green than the rest of the forest and it's flowers a bright blue color.

It was Gamot that Jay needed, and dearly. He noticed that the cut on his arm had gotten worse, and was probably infected. It was insulted even more when he helped barricade the door using the same arm, and it hurt even more.

Jay bends down and plucks and tugs at the bright blue flowers and stuffs it into his pocket; he would save that for later. Then, Jay takes about a fistful of flowers and crushes it in between his hand, squeezing out the nectar and juice.

Jay uses the substance in his palms and rubs it in between his hands. Then he, very tenderly, grazed the suave onto his purplish cut.

The pain erupted on the surface of his arm and he sustained crying out. It was a burning sort of pain that traveled all the way to his elbow. The cut was definitely infected; and more than Jay had thought. He had to tell Nya and Kai about it, and especially get as much Gamot as he can.

So Jay stuffed the rest of the leaves on the Gamot bush in his pocket until it looked like a big ball. He secured it to ensure none would fall out as he walked back to the mansion.

As soon as he was sure he was ready, Jay began retracing his steps, finding his way back to the place he was before.

Eventually, the telltale dim light shined through the trees in front of him that he was out of the woods. And the Mayor's mansion wasn't far ahead.

Once Jay walked into the mansion and softly closed the door, he could tell that something was very different, although he couldn't figure out what. He dumped the lump of wood in his arms into the fireplace and looked around. Everything was the same. The furniture was still in place, no additional odors floated around...

Suddenly, an all-too familiar voice sifted into Jay's ears and he quickly turned his head toward the upstairs room where the three stayed. But the voice wasn't of Kai's or Nya's.

It was of somebody he thought was gone forever.

"Cole?" Jay called out hopefully, and the pitter patter of thundering steps replied to him.

"Jay?" Cole's beaming face looked down on his big brother from the top of the staircase. "Is that really you?"

Jay didn't answer his brother; he was too busy staring in awe at the young boy he had originally thought he wouldn't see again. And now that he was a staircase away from him, he didn't know what to say.

So all he did was hold out his arms, inviting Cole in for a hug. Cole smiles even wider as he ran down the carpeted stairs and into his brother's outstretched arms. "I...thought you were dead!" Cole exclaimed into Jay's ear.

"I thought you were on the Dark Island!" Jay responded as he let go of his brother. "How are you here?"

"Well-" Cole started, about to tell of his adventure, when the white wooden doors swung open. Jay turned around in a snap, and narrowed his eyes in dislike as he saw the new guest.

It was a boy with his arms around Nya's neck as she helped him walk, although nothing seemed wrong with the boy's leg.

And Jay couldn't help but notice that the boy was no other than Zane.

Zane and Nya immediately stopped in their tracks as soon as they saw Jay with Cole. Nya rushed forwards leaving Zane's arms around air toward Cole.

"Cole!" Nya exclaims. "You're here! But I thought you were on the boats!"

"Well-" Cole started again, but this time, Jay, who had only been staring bullets into Zane, interrupted.

"Zane." Jay spoke in a low tone. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw Nya and Kai run off into the woods, and I followed them shortly after when they didn't come back," Zane replies in the same cold voice. "So excuse me for being worried for my friend's safety." Seeing the looks the two boys were exchanging, Nya sighs sadly.

Zane was Nya's boyfriend, and for a reason that was oblivious to Nya, that was the main reason that Jay disliked Zane. The two couldn't even be in the same room together without there being any tension.

Jay's feelings for Zane was unreasonable to Nya; he was respectable, trustworthy, smart, and handsome. And when Nya had officially begun to date Zane, she couldn't help but notice the looks that Jay had made whenever she mentioned him.

But now the circumstances have changed. Nya could only hope that the two could work out their differences. They had to, or else the chance of surviving Night together would be nonexistent.


	13. The Second Attack

Zane woke up suddenly. Fear was already swirling in his mind; he sensed something, and it was dangerous.

Sensing important things was like the boy's gift; it proved to be amazing and useful in the past, and is unexplainable. That was why Zane trusted his gut that said that something wasn't right.

He sat up from the blanket he slept on on the hard floor next to the couch, where Kai slept. He could hear Kai snoring, and Jay and Nya were still asleep; they hadn't noticed anything like he did.

And then the noise came. It sounded like a door slowly creaking open.

Somebody was coming inside the Mayor's house.

Zane knew it won't be long until it finds the correct staircase. The mysterious noise was loud enough to wake up Nya, who was beside him.

"What was that?" Zane immediately asked her, and her eyes widened. Nya didn't answer her boyfriend. She merely said, "Stand up, and get ready to hold a door down. They're here."

"They're here?" Zane asked her, worry mixing in with his fear.

When he had first entered the Mayor's house a few hours ago, all three briefly explained about the creatures and what to do when they came again. And from what they said, Zane could tell that these creatures, whoever they were, were bloodthirsty killers, and they were hunting for them.

So Zane quickly shook Kai, Jay and Cole awake. "Guys," he said. "They're here."

Immediately knowing what he meant, the three jumped up. Kai stood by Nya and Zane while Jay kneeled down before his young brother, who was no doubt eager to join in on the action.

"Yeah! Let's do this!" Cole happily, but softly, cheered.

"Cole," Jay interrupted. "These things are dangerous. We need you in the closet, where it's safe."

"Safe?" Cole repeated, pouting. "But I don't want to be safe! I want to protect you guys!"

"No." Jay told him sternly. "Now is not the time. This is real, Cole. And if those things gets inside, staying in the closet is the only way for you to be safe. Do you understand?"

"But-" Cole started, but knew it was no use. Jay had made up his mind, and was one of the most stubborn people the boy had ever met. He was wise and shut his mouth.

Jay pushed the boy in the nearby closet, and quickly joined Kai, Nya and Zane. "The footsteps are getting closer. They're almost here." Zane informed him, seriousness and a hint of worry and fear hidden in his alluring blue eyes. Jay nodded, and listened intently. Indeed, the soft footsteps _were_ getting closer, creeping around the corner, preparing for battle like the teens were.

And suddenly it happened. They didn't know how, but it caught the four off guard. The first pound was extremely loud and powerful, and the four pushed up against the door immediately.

"Hold!" Kai yelled, and without even thinking about it, they obeyed and used all of their strength. But Nya could tell that their prediction had been right. More had come, at least two or three more than the one creature they had faced the first time.

They shouted with effort, and Kai straining every order that came from his mouth. Sweat poured down their necks, but they barely noticed.

Zane, using his well tuned hearing, listened and noticed that the creatures on the other side of the door were also making noises of effort. It sounded kind of like a growling sound, low and a sort of alien vibe to it. It was like a warbling instrument.

 _But perhaps they aren't making noise...maybe they're communicating with each other?_ Zane asked himself. It was a possibility, but he had to talk to the creatures and maybe actually look at them in order to be sure; for all it could be, they could speak perfect english.

Zane snapped his attention from his thoughts suddenly when the pushing and force stopped abruptly. It looked, and felt, as though the threats have given up and left.

But when he looked to his companions, they didn't seem to be relaxed; Nya's face was contorted, Jay's was put into a frown, and Kai's eyebrows were more creased than he had ever seen them. And then he learned why.

A grinding noise was heard, and it was loud. Again, Kai covered his ears and screamed, just as before. Zane looked at his friend with worry, and by the time he turned back, the noise had ceased itself.

Then, and Zane strained to hear, retreating footsteps walked down the stairs. All of them, one by one. One of them closed the door behind them quietly.

As soon as the coast was clear, they all let out a large exhale from their lungs, none of them knowing it was there at all.

It was Nya who went forward and bravely opened the door. She looked behind it, and gasped; she had found the result of the mysterious grinding noise. The rest followed her example, and they widen their eyes at the strange sight.

Five straight and deep vertical lines ripped through the wood on the door. The first three looked a little older. Nya realized those were the first three that were made when the creatures first came. Then, the last two were new; fresh and much deeper than the first set.

Kai walked out of the door and traced his pale fingers on the rips. Then, he spoke.

"It's not safe here anymore." Kai said. He looked at all three of the teens. "Pack your bags. We have to go to the Elder's hut."


	14. A Velvet Bag

The four packed and gathered their few belongings and put it in a single burlap bag.

Cole watched his older brother, his friends and Zane quickly and quietly find and stuff everything in the bag, preparing for the Hermit's hut, which Cole still had no idea what it was.

"Cole, pass me my shoes," Nya told the overwhelmed boy, and he obeyed. He was wise enough to know that when they moved this fast and urgently, it was important to do what they asked, and quickly.

Zane barely had anything; just a couple of flashlights and several extra shirts, so it was easy to pack for him.

Once they were all ready, they stood at the door, with Jay's arm around Cole's shoulder, keeping him close. "Stay right by me, okay?" Jay whispered fiercely to his brother. "Don't wander off, especially in the woods. We don't know what's out there."

Cole averted his eyes to avoid Jay finding the truth.

He had decided not to tell his friends of his findings; not yet. Because if they knew what he had experienced and what was really out there, his protective older brother would never let Cole leave his sight. That was the last thing that he wanted. He did not want his brother breathing down his neck on the Dark Island, when they _do_ eventually get there, and especially not the rest of his life.

It was selfish, Cole knew. But maybe it was for the best. Maybe Jay would let him in on the action and Cole could be the one to protect them. In his mind, he was actually helping them.

Nya, who was in the front, leaned against the door in front of her and pushed it open slowly, the creak of the door sounding throughout the hallway. When she was sure that it was safe, she opened it fully. "Come on," Nya whispered, and the others followed out, with Zane in the back, closing the door soundlessly behind him.

They carefully made their way down the stairs in the mayor's house, moving gradually to the front door.

But suddenly, a chill ran through Kai's spine, and he shivered. He looked up, and stared, aghast, at the woman in the flowing gray dress.

She was floating through the air, with pale yellow light as her eyes. Her eyes were filled with _only_ the light; no pupil or center. And it was so disturbing for Kai that he almost knelt down and cried in fear.

The woman walked toward him in the air, slowly touching the ground when she came to it. And she was standing right in front of Kai's face.

Kai looked around, waiting for his friends to see the woman, who seemed to be threatening him. Then he realized that, mysteriously, everybody has frozen in place. Nya's left foot didn't even touch the next step.

 _"They're frozen."_ she told him, whisking his head towards her.

"What?" Kai asked. "What do you mean?"

 _"Time has stopped,"_ the woman spoke again. _"And I can do it forever, if you like_ _."_

"But how is that possible?"

 _"There is more magic in this world than you think, Kai."_ the woman said, staring deeply into him with her odd-looking eyes. _"How do you think an entire day lasts thirty years?"_

"What do you want with me?" Kai spoke, and quite loudly.

 _"I wanted to warn you,"_ she replied. _"Warn you that Night is coming in mere hours. Do you remember my last warning?"_

"Yes," Kai responded. "You said we can't go into the woods at Night. That there is something dangerous out there."

 _"Oh, so you do remember."_ The woman flew around Kai in a circle, whispering in his ear with a devilish smile on her ghostly face. _"Then tell me, Kai, why do you lead your friends to certain doom? With Night so close?"_

"Because it's not going to matter," Kai replied fiercely. "We are going to the Hermit's hut where it'll be safe. He'll take care of us,"

 _"Wu?"_ the woman chuckled. _"That senile old man is going to take care of you? Isn't he on the boats?"_

"No." Kai said. "He never leaves the island for Night. For four whole Nights, he has been under the protection of his house and his defensive skills." This was what he had learned from the few things that the parents told him and his sister before leaving.

 _"I see,"_ she said, looking at Kai with empty and pale yellow eyes. _"And you believe that that will protect you?"_

"I do," Kai told her. She became quiet, and Kai turned. "Now if you release the spell you somehow cast, I'm going to go. I have things I need to do."

* * *

The air outside felt different than it did the day before. It wasn't only cold, but it was piercingly bitter. It made the group's faces freeze in seconds.

"We're running low on food," Nya told them aloud. "I'll gather some fruits by the town. I'll rejoin you in thirty minutes."

"But it's dangerous to go alone," Zane said, hardening his grip on her shoulder. "Jay is right. We don't know what's out there."

Jay scoffs. "Did you guys hear that? Zane said I was right! How'd _that_ taste in your mouth?" he taunts.

"Not now." Zane said, his voice as cold as the air. It shut Jay's mouth, but not the arrogant smirk on his face.

Zane turned back to Nya. "I'm coming with you."

Nya swiped her boyfriend's arm off of her shoulder. "No. I can go on my own." she told him, staring into his pale eyes. "I don't need anybody's protection. I'm not made of porcelain, you know."

"But-" Zane started, but Nya shut him up with a kiss on his cheek. Zane hides a smirk, for out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jay grit his teeth in fury.

"I'll be fine, Zane." Nya said. "I'm just going to get some food. I'll be right back here in no time."

* * *

Nya strolls away from the group, heading toward the town. Convincing Zane and the others to let her go alone had not been very easy, but this was something that she had to do.

She steered clear of the town, and instead headed straight for the docks. The same docks, in fact, that the five had first been left behind; the last place on Ninjago where her parents were before they left for the next fifteen years.

When the docks came into view, she stopped in her tracks, looking at the mess on the shoreline.

Suitcases; open, closed, ripped, over flowed, messy, and scattered lay askew on the shoreline.

Nya walked alongside them, looking for the right one; the only one that mattered now.

And soon, she found it; a turquoise suitcase with red polka dots plastered all over it. It was her suitcase, and it was her good luck that it was the one that held exactly what she wanted to find.

Nya tore it open, and like a dog digging in the dirt, dug out all of the contents; her clothes, shoes, books, sunglasses, everything she had packed for the Dark Island. And suddenly there it was; a blue velvet bag, smaller than her own shoe, but containing something much more valuable.

She wrapped her hands around it, and opened it tenderly. Then, she pulled out the small and smooth object.

It was the sapphire ring; the same one that Jay had gone back for. The same one that got them all stranded here in the first place.


	15. Into the Woods

The sapphire gem gleamed even in the lightless sky as Nya continued to stare at it. She was holding the one gem that had first brought them to be stranded on Ninjago, for whoever knows how long.

It was about a month after returning from the terrible trip to the pond that she had first discovered it was not lost at all. She had held the bag in her hand, thinking that it was rather heavy to be empty, and she had opened it.

Nya remembered the shock she felt when she found the ring laying in a fold in the bag. She had been, however, mostly relieved. It was a family's heirloom after all.

Right away, she planned to tell the boys, including Zane, of her find. But at the moment, Jay and Kai were out in the town for the day, and Zane had been on the other side of Ninjago with his family on a trip. Neither Jay or Kai had been back until after she fell asleep, and Zane hadn't been back until three days later.

Nya had waited for the correct moment, but it never came. Time passed, and then it seemed better to keep it to herself. After all, what had been the harm? Until now, the gem held almost no purpose and was, in some terms, unimportant. Nya hadn't thought that Jay would foolishly go off into the woods to look for it. Now because of her, they were separated from their families, and unable to see them again for whatever how long.

Nya, after deciding to grab a sweater and a jacket for the cold, closed the suitcase and zipped it shut. She stood up, and began walking back to the group; if she stood any longer than needed, the boys would begin wondering where she was.

She was lost in thought as she grabbed some crunchy carrots and grapevines from abandoned fruit and vegetable stands. How would they react to this? How mad would they be?

She had torn Kai and Zane from Mom and Dad, lied to Jay, and put Cole's life in danger. Who knows if anything would ever be the same again?

Nya sighed, biting into one of the carrots sadly. Worry was Nya's strongest emotion, and until this was resolved, it will continue to be.

* * *

"What's taking her so long?" Kai asked.

"I hope nothing happened to her," Zane said, concern clearly on his pale face. Jay glares at the boy, but said nothing. After all, that was what he was thinking, too.

"Wait," Kai suddenly said. "I see her."

Zane and Jay eagerly looked into the fog about three yards in front of them that Nya had walked through almost forty minutes ago, scanning for the girl. But all they saw was thick fog, blocking out any figure that could be there.

"Where?" Cole asked. "I don't see her."

Kai came to the front, pointing toward it. "There. Don't you see?" he asked.

"No," Jay replied. "You must either have super eyesight, or you're crazy."

However, Jay was shown up when he saw the beautiful and curved figure of Nya walking through the fog, carrying food, as promised. Kai smiled slyly at his friends. "Told you so," Kai said, then walked over to his sister.

Jay and Zane both exchanged glances. How Kai could have seen through the most thickest fog was almost beyond them.

"Great, thanks." Kai said, barely glancing at his sister. "Now put it in the bag and we can go."

Nya obeys wordlessly, frowning, and lugs it over her shoulder. They set off right after, heading into the dangerous and intimidating woods that held even more secrets and twists than the five would ever know.

* * *

Zane trudged forward in the woods, an arm over his face like the rest of his companions, trying to block out the piercing rain and hail. It had started not long ago, around the time they had first walked in. Rain, and especially hail, was new to them, for the sun had been out for the past fifteen years, so the weather was unusual.

"Kai," he shouted through the pattering of the nickel-sized hail on the forest floor. "Are you sure you know where you are going? We've been walking in these dreaded woods for fifteen minutes! When will we get there?"

"Soon." Kai responded sharply. "I know where we are."

"Yeah?" Nya said, squinting through the rain. "Then where are we?"

After a moment, Kai answered. "We are on the same path as the pond. I remember seeing the hut on the way there those months ago, remember?"

Nya did remember. The hut was rather small, and so was Wu, the hermit who lived there. It was made of wood and straw, mainly, and had a porch that Wu sometimes sat on in his chair, staring at the woods.

As if waiting for something.

It wasn't long before the hail eventually did stop, along with the sharp and blinding rain. When it did, the five looked to the dark sky, as if looking to see where it had gone.

Jay, seeing the 'danger' was gone, let his brother from the roof his arms made for him, and continued walking. Cole took the chance, and sighed to himself. His brother was afraid of him getting drenched in harmless _rain_. Cole couldn't imagine how worse it would be if he blew his secret.

Cole had been looking down, lost in his thoughts, that he didn't see Nya in front of him stop, and he bumped into her. "What's happened?" Cole asked, looking in front of the girl.

"We're here," Kai called back to the boy. And suddenly, a mixture of feelings ran through Cole. Even he didn't know what they were.


	16. The Hermit's Hut: Part I

The five walk cautiously onto the hermit's porch, and Nya bravely knocks on the door, just hard enough for it to echo through the small house. "Hello? Mr. Wu? Are you in there?" she called through the door. Silence replied to them, and she knocks again. "Please come out," she says. "We mean you no harm."

"...that's what they said...before..." a voice spoke gravely. "I am not letting you in. Get off my porch."

The five raised their eyebrows, surprised the hermit even answered them at all. Then Jay spoke. "Please, sir," he said. "We need your help. Something is after us, and we need your protection. Please let us in."

"No." the Hermit called. "Get out. Before I make you."

"We'll trade," Kai said, and the four turned to him in confusion.

"With what?" Jay whispered. "We have nothing to give him."

"We have food." Zane offered. "A hermit like him must need food if he doesn't get out if his house. Let's give some of our supplies to him in exchange for his shelter. We need it if we are to survive Night."

"Zane's right." Nya tells her companions sternly. "We have to." Then, she turns back to the door, and calls, "We are willing to trade you some of our supplies in exchange for your protection. Mr. Wu, do you take it?"

The silence lasted almost two whole minutes before Wu finally answered. "Fine. But if you try anything, I will fight. I may be an old hermit, but I can kick."

The five smiled in relief.

"Thank you," Jay finally spoke up, ushering in his brother along with the rest, and closed the door behind him.

* * *

Wu's eyebrow arched as the five children made their way into his house. _They seem rather young to be alone at Night...especially with what's out there._ he thought.

He reluctantly gestured to his ratted couch for them to sit, showing grudging respect. "Sit." Wu said with a grave and ratted out voice. "Tell me about yourselves."

Replying to their confused expressions, Wu continued, "I must know you before I accept you into my house,"

"But we agreed on a trade," a teen boy with messy brown hair said. "We're going to give our supplies-"

"I don't want a trade." Wu said, almost sharply. "I may be a shrunken hermit, but I can be generous if I want to. You do, in fact, need help. Night is very dangerous, you know."

The five sarcastically chuckled, meaning they did know what the old man spoke of. Immediately, Wu knew that they had told the truth; the creatures were after them.

"Now," Wu said. "Tell me your names."

"Well, I'm Kai, " the boy with messy hair said, then gestured to the girl sitting next to him. "This is my sister Nya,"

"I'm Jay,"

"I'm Cole,"

"And my name is Zane, sir."

The children in turn introduced themselves to the Hermit, who gave a slight nod to them. "How do you kids know about me, and where I live?" Wu asked curiously. "I haven't been off of my porch for over three Nights. Who told you about me?"

"Our parents, sir," Kai replied, and Wu shook his hand suddenly.

"First, no need for 'sir'" he said. "It makes me feel old."

"Continue."

"Well," Kai said. "Our parents were the ones who told us about you, and how you never leave on the boats for Night, and anything that comes to harm you, you kick them out."

"Literally." Cole chuckled, who was held in his brother's lap. Jay ruffled his hair.

"And it wasn't until Jay, Nya, and I went to the pond, and I saw your hut by the path. You were sitting on your porch, in your chair."

Then Nya spoke up, but it was slow and cautious, as if careful not to upset the elderly man. "You...looked like you were looking into the woods," she said. "But you didn't see us. What were you looking at?"

Wu was quiet for a few moments before clearing his throat and replied, "I did see you. I just didn't want to acknowledge I did at the time." Then he stood up so slowly, that the children rushed to help him, but he waved them off, that he got it.

"You all get some rest. I'll explain everything when you wake up, including the creatures that are haunting you." Wu said, and excitement ran through their spines. They were finally going to get answers.


	17. The Hermit's Hut: Part II

Jay woke up on the floor, blankets surrounding him. Darkness still consumed the room, and coldness through the cracks on the floorboard from which he had fallen asleep. He shivered, and wrapped the blanket closer around him.

Medium-temperature breaths heated his ears slightly, and Jay turned to his right, and gasped.

Wu didn't have any extra beds, so everybody had slept on the floor, cramped into the small extra room. So on his right was Nya, breathing softly in his ear, her eyes closed and a blanket around her strong pale arms.

Jay felt he had to turn away, but it was too hard. Her thin cheeks give a sort of volume to her face, and her jet black hair flow behind her sleeping body.

Without control, Jay touches a strand of hair then tucks it behind her ear, and he smiles. And he hoped that one day, when they were older perhaps, he could wake up next to her every time he awoke. It was a silly fantasy, he knew, but everytime he looked at her, it didn't seem silly at all.

"What are you doing?"

Jay looked to his left, and saw the arched-eyebrowed Kai looking back at him. "Nothing," Jay lied, but he knew that Kai saw through him like glass.

Kai said nothing, as he turned over and closed his eyes again. Jay sighed, and did the same. Another day has begun, and Jay could tell that it wasn't going to be a great one.

* * *

The first meal of the day was filling, and the five were surprisingly satisfied. Wu must have kept more berries than one can count in the cupboard, and pancake mix waiting to be used along with it.

"Thank you, Mr. Wu," Zane said politely, as always. "That was..."

As if on cue, Cole let out a big burp, then plastered a silly smile on his face through the chastising look on his brother's. "Cole!" Jay scolded. "Manners."

But Wu was laughing. "No, that's alright. I'm glad when a guest enjoys my food."

To the five, Wu seemed to be in a much less crabby mood than when they had first arrived the night before. They couldn't decide why; maybe because he trusted them a bit more, or maybe a new day had started, and Wu had gotten a good rest.

"Now." Wu said, and in such a way it made the children's heads snap up. "I believe that it's the time to give you five some answers. I can see it in your eyes, that it's what you desire most. Is that right?"

The five nodded their heads, and then were led to the cloth couch. Jay pulled Cole onto his lap, much to his protest, but decided not to squirm.

Wu placed his old and frail body in a matching cloth chair in front of them, and leaned forward, as if to ensure the group could hear his story. Nya could see, even from the distance from him, that his sagging grey eyes held more memories and more hurt than anyone she'd ever seen. They had mystery behind them as well, but was trapped, as if he was afraid to let out his own answers.

* * *

 ** _.:_**

 _It started about six Nights ago, when the Moon was bright, and the woods were dark and empty._

 _This had been my first Night. I was a young boy, like you four, and inexperienced in surviving the deadly time. But so was my brother, Garmadon._

 _We had been left behind also. We were alone, and afraid. Not to mention, ignorant to the world outside of Day. Trouble sought us out every time we turned our backs, so every minute, we looked over our shoulders to make sure we weren't being followed._

 _But with my brother, it seemed possible to survive Night, because we each never left the other's side. Our father had taught us defense over the years, and so we used it to combat the mysterious forces in the trees._

 _They had fur along their faces, and dark black eyes, with long talons the length of a knife, and sharper than a man's most mightiest sword. They had the strength of six men. They were called the Tura Tribe._

 _The Tribe is constructed strongly and fiercely, and has lived for many years, for the master of them all was too strong and intimidating to be hurt. He is called the Overlord._

 _Overlord is a powerful ruler, and never to be tampered with. Garmadon and I never found a way to defeat him, but we tried with all of our might._

 _We brought down many members of his Tribe, and it angered the Overlord. He fought back, even more fiercely than we did, and we were knocked to the ground. We had been defeated._

 _Overlord walked toward us menacingly, fear filling our bodies to the brim. Then he knelt down next to my brother, and he whispered something I will hear for the rest of my days._

 _"I'm not going to hurt you."_

 _And he didn't._

 _For instead of hurting him, Overlord placed a finger on my brother's forehead for not even a second._

 _From that spot, a purplish dark color spawned and spread across my brother's face, and along his body. His eyes turned a lighter shade, and the_ _light inside of him began to burn out._

 _I shouted, "What have you done?!"_

 _He replied, "I am turning him into one of us. I can't have you escaping, and telling others of us. And it's obvious that you two are stronger together. Isn't that right, boy?"_

 _I turned to Garmadon, tears in my eyes from all of the fear clouding every part of me. But my brother looked up at me with dry eyes, and so I stopped._

 _"Brother," he said weakly. "Wait for me. Promise you'll wait for me."_

 _Overlord waved a hand over Garmadon's violet eyes, and it turned completely_ _black._ _I screamed._

 _My brother spoke again, but this time, it was no longer him._ _"Seize him." Garmadon said, for he was now co-ruler of the Tura Tribe, and he will be for the rest of his days._

 _I ran, faster than ever before, until I reached the river. The Tribe was merely feet away from me, swinging and jumping from tree to tree, attempting to capture me, and perhaps give me the same fate as my brother._

 _Without hesitating, I jumped into the cold river, and then I swam the current to the rapids. From there, I fashioned a boat, and I left the island of Ninjago, which no longer held happy memories, for it had taken my brother Garmadon._

 _Eventually, I used a sapphire gem I had found under a rock in a deep cave I had explored during Day, and used it to lead me the way to my family, for sapphires are enchanted to catch any natural light and lead you to anywhere you think in your mind._

 _I did arrive on the Dark Island, but without my brother, it was no longer worth it. Life was dull without my brother._

 _And so, for every Night to come, I stayed on Ninjago, waiting for my brother to return. I keep my brother's wish, and I still wait for him._

* * *

Everybody's heart pounded in their ears as Wu finished his tale. Questions had been answered, and now that they knew the answers, disbelief was great in their hearts.

It was especially Cole with a swarm of feelings. He now knew what species the woman he had been captured by was, and now knew what they had done to this old man, and to a brother they never knew the Hermit had.

Wu got up slowly, leaving his guests to absorb the twists just revealed.


	18. The Trapdoor

Kai's eyes opened calmly, and he sat up. The room was completely empty, the only light from a Moon pouring in from the window. It was quiet, and neither Nya, Jay, Zane or Cole was anywhere to be seen.

Kai turns his head and jumps when he sees the woman's face merely inches away from his, staring into his brown eyes. _"Kai,"_ she said. _"Don't disobey me, Kai."_

"I told you before, I won't." he replied, throwing off the blanket around his shoulders. He stands up, and turns his back to the fair-faced woman. "I know what I'm doing."

 _"Do you?"_ she asked, her image flickering in the corner of Kai's eye. _"You are a child, afraid and left behind in a world unknown. You don't know what you are doing."_

Kai rolled his eyes, but said nothing. The woman speaks again. _"Just remember. Don't go into the woods. It's dangerous."_

Suddenly, Kai turned around, facing the woman with an angry face. "What is it that you mean by this?" he asked. "Why is it so important not to go into the woods? Who are you?"

The woman didn't speak for a moment and opened her mouth, but before any noise was able to come out, the entire room began to shake. The glass in the window suddenly shattered, shards scattering the wooden floor. The two immediately crumbled to the floor in an uncontrollable shaking spasm as chaos erupted in the room. Kai's head began to feel dizzy, like his consciousness was being yanked out of him. He felt his eyes begin to open, and Kai heard voices shouting in his ear.

 _"Kai! Get up! Get up now!"_

* * *

Kai woke up with a gasp to the faces of a frantic Nya and Jay. They pull him up from the floor, and Kai couldn't help but hear the sound of pounding and rattling, and he knew that it wasn't from his head. Something was trying to get into the Hut. A sense of deja vu entered his mind, and he brushed it away.

"Hurry!" Wu was yelling, pointing to the end of the small room. "There's a trapdoor leading outside in case of emergencies like this. You must crawl through it and get out of here. Now!"

"What about you?" Zane asked, who was frantically grabbing Cole from his bed. "You must come with us."

Kai looked from Wu to Zane, panicked and unsure to exactly what was happening. Who was trying to get in? What did Wu mean by a trapdoor?

Wu nodded and yelled above the noise, "I will come. Trust me. I'll be there. But you have to leave."

Zane nodded, and popped open the trapdoor with the help of Nya. Jay rushed forward and hurriedly pushed Cole down the door first. "Hurry!" Jay yelled at the boy. "Before they come in!"

Cole silently and quickly obeyed his brother and slipped down the hatch and disappeared into darkness.

"What's happening?" Kai asked his sister. "What's that noise?"

"The Turans are trying to get in." Nya explained briskly. "We have to go quickly before they get to us or else they'll tear us apart. Now hurry, get down the hatch."

Kai obeyed and slipped in after Cole. He jumped and landed on a hard ground. Then came three more thuds, and Zane, Nya and Jay were with them, and on their stomachs, army-crawling through the chute.

Overhead, splintering and rattling sounded overhead through the floorboards, and none of them dared to breathe. The wood in the door was breaking apart, and Kai knew it. The Tura were going to get in. It was only a matter of time.

"Come on!" Zane whispered. "We must go before they discover us. Be very quiet, and move quickly."

Kai and everybody else heeded Zane, and they constantly put their hands outstretched to serve as a guide through the dark.

A slam from behind them startles the five, and they turn around. The slam echoed throughout the small shaft, bouncing off the roof and upcoming walls. "Wait." Nya said. "Where's Wu?"

Nya, who was in the back, strained her head as far as she could, looking for the old man. Dread consumed her when she realized that the old man was the one who caused the slam; he had closed the trapdoor and stayed behind to fight the Tura.

Wu was going to die.

"He's...he's not here, guys." Nya called to her companions, trying to keep the grief from her voice. The others remained silent as they continued crawling through the shaft. It was long until Kai, who was behind Cole, spoke up.

"Wait. I feel a breeze. We must be getting close." he said. Cole eagerly reached out for the opening when suddenly there was a loud roar and a thundering stomp from above them. The chute they were in shook violently, and they screamed.

A deafening roar and several stomps powerfully rocked the small chute.

"Go!" yelled Kai. "They've found us! Go! Crawl!"

Cole obeyed, and lead the frantic others toward the breeze that Kai had felt. Cole could feel it too; he could tell that it was narrow by how little air had filtered through.

Jay holds in a yell of pain as he crawled vigorously through the vault. Putting all of his weight on his still injured arm was extremely agonizing, and he was sure he was just insulting his injury. He kept on.

"I see it. I'm going through!" Cole yelled from in front. Luckily, his short nine-year-old body was small enough to easily slide between the opening. He fell on his behind on the dirt ground, and then stood up.

Another roar echoed in the forest, and Cole quickly hid in the shadows. The Turan was close-by, and were obviously not happy. If they discovered the little boy now...

Just then, Kai slid out, startling the little boy. "Shh!" Cole told him, and pointed to the direction of the creature's roar. Kai nodded, and followed Cole silently, and hid with him, back against the wall of the Hut.

In a few minutes, Zane and Jay quickly and quietly squeezed their bodies through the shaft opening. Kai looked in, and saw his sister attempting to get through. "Hurry, Nya!" Kai whispered fiercely. Nya looked at him with arched eyebrows.

"I'm trying, Kai!" Nya whispered back, and held on to the sides again when another roar rocked the shaft. Kai's face paled when he heard the slam of the door again. But he knew that this time, the door had been ripped off and tossed aside by something with strength.

The Turans were going inside the chute.

"Come on, Nya!" Kai yelled, and without question, Nya crawled quickly. Kai grabbed his sister's hands and tried to pull her, but she slips and falls back.

"Nya!" Kai yelled. "Come on!"

Nya tries again, and grabs her brother's hands once more. "Pull me, Kai!" she yells, and Kai uses his strength to pull his sister through the opening. She screams as she falls to the dirt, then she gets up again.

"Thanks," Nya says to her brother, and then immediately takes off running. The other four follow behind her, clipping her heels, away from the danger of the Tura Tribe.


	19. On the Run

Sweat. Panting. Fear.

It all ran down Cole's face and body as he ran with his companions through the forest, his heart beating in his chest, and his eyes as wide as a doe's. He constantly looked behind him to see if the creatures had caught up to them, or maybe even captured any of his friends.

"The beach is just ahead!" Jay yelled from behind his brother. "We will rest near there."

Cole didn't understand why Jay had picked the beach to hide in, but in a state of panic like this, now was not the time to think.

Zane, with his hand around Nya's arm and pulling her forward, ran alongside them, adrenaline flowing through his head and body. He could smell the ocean's scent, and knew that they were close.

Close to possibly taking a break from the fear.

But Kai wasn't so sure. He sensed something, which was odd, considering it was mostly Zane with a great sense. He heard the creatures still, roaring and thundering and ripping apart the Hut, although he knew it was more than a mile away now.

Jay suppressed a groan, and looked at his blood that held a dried-blood scab, purplish, and oozing what he thought was puss. His cut was getting worse, and he hadn't have a chance to rub Gamot on it without anybody seeing. Perhaps at the beach, where they'll find somewhere safe, he would have a chance to do so.

"There!" he called, and the others stopped.

In the dark of Night, with the big Moon just beginning it's rising, casting it's brilliant Moonlight on the surface of the water, sat the big and black beach. The sand, to the five, looked mysteriously even brighter from the light.

Jay put his hands on his brother's shoulders, and they watched the Moon silently, the light shining in their pupils.

"There." Nya says, pointing to the far left of the beach. "There's a cave. We'll rest there."

"Fine." Kai responded. "Let's go. I'm tired, and my feet are killing me."

* * *

Wu shut the trapdoor, and loudly. He wanted the children to know that he had lied; he wasn't coming with them, and just needed them to get away. The old man steadied himself as his house shook.

With arched eyebrows, Wu grabbed his staff, and clutching it, he walked outside of his guest room. And he waited, staring at the wooden door in front of him, waiting for it to break and for the Tura Tribe to walk in.

In about five minutes, that's exactly what happened. The wood from the door splintered around the old man, and he ducked, covering his face. A growl made him stand upright, and he stared into the face of the Overlord.

 _"Wu..."_ he said. _"We had a deal."_

"Yeah, well, I broke it." Wu shot back. "You took my brother first. I didn't have to honor the deal for this long."

 _"The deal was you would remain here during Night, unharmed by my tribe, if you didn't allow anyone into your home. That was our agreement. And you broke it!"_ The Overlord tossed a table to the side, and Wu remained with a stoic face.

 _"They are our food, Wu."_ Overlord growled. _"They are what feed my children and my tribe. And you cheated me out of it!"_

"I did nothing of the sort, Overlord." Wu defended.

 _"No."_ Overlord growled. _"You betrayed me!"_

"That's enough."

Overlord and Wu turned to the door, both with a shocked face. _"Garmadon."_ Overlord seethed. _"Don't tell me when it is enough. I am your master, remember?"_

"Do I look like I care?" Garmadon replied, his face casual and stoic.

Wu's face, however, was as pale as the Moon, and mouth almost as wide.

"Garmadon. It's you." Wu said, his voice barely above a whisper. He hadn't seen his older brother since that Night, when they were both kids. And now that he's seen his brother again, Garmadon seemed even farther away.

He looked at Wu with the same nonchalant look, and looked him over, barely batting an eyebrow. It drove a knife straight through Wu's heart; the only thing that was worse than his brother not even noticing him was acknowledging his presence, and not even caring about him.

His brother no longer loved him.

"Wu." Garmadon finally spoke his brother's name. But that was all that Wu received, for then Garmadon walked right past him, as if he were a breeze.

Garmadon looked around the little hut as if it was a disgusting pile of trash, and spoke again, and didn't even look his brother in the eye. "So," he said. "You've kept this hut for all these years. Why?"

"This was where we grew up," Wu replied. "With Mother and Father. Remember?"

"I remember them." Garmadon spoke, and with a tone that shoved even the Overlord's throat to his stomach.

Wu's brother didn't speak for a while, and then he snapped his fingers. Wu turned around, stunned, when he heard a group of pattering steps, but as hard as the steps of a stampede's.

"Destroy this house." Garmadon spoke, and Wu's eyes widened.

"No!" he yelled, but Overlord blocks Wu from stopping his brother from his action. "Stop!"

"No, brother." Garmadon turned, striking Wu with his talon, and the old man falls backward, clutching his face. He pulls back his wrinkled hand to find it covered in dark red blood; the same that created the dark red line down his cheek and near his neck.

Wu looks around in horror and in pain, as he watches the Tura tribe tear down everything in it's path, and rips down his walls.

He looks up at his brother with fear, and a face of betrayal. Garmadon's response was a dark smile that spread to both cheeks.

"I will not stop until you are dead."


	20. Smoldering Hate

The fire crackled and burned, warming and lighting up the small cave that the group lain and rested in. Jay held his brother close, but in a way that didn't hurt his arm or Cole discovering his infected scab.

Jay fingered in his pocket the Gamot he still had from the woods. He would apply it only when the others fell asleep.

Kai rubbed his feet, which hurt more than he thought. The boots he was wearing must have chafed against his foot while he was running. Nya reached out and touched her brother's arm. "You okay?" she asked, and Kai nodded, not saying a word. Nya smiled at him; a soft and small smile that could only make Kai smile back. No wonder both Zane and Jay were attracted to her.

"Thanks for...pulling me out." she said. Kai nodded again, but this time, he spoke.

"You're welcome." Kai replied. This was the first decent exchange they had since the incident in the woods all those months ago, and both were glad. Perhaps things could become normal again.

* * *

Snores filled the cave, and Jay got up from the hard ground, and sat on a rock beside the cave outside.

The Moon in Night really was beautiful, and so were the Stars, for Jay had never seen them before. His heart nearly sunk. Night had officially begun once the Moon had risen, and the five still needed to get off of this island.

Jay brushed those thoughts from his mind, knowing that was a useless thought; it would not help them get back, and he should learn which facts would and would not.

Jay took out the Gamot from his pocket and squeezed the juice from the flower and rubbed the dew from the leaves into his hands, making a salve. He hesitated before applying the medicine, and almost gave a shout at the pain that ripped across his forearm. Hot tears came to his eyes and his heart beat faster from the agony. He would not shout; he would not wake the others up.

He could not let Nya know.

Jay breathed in and out, absorbing the pain, and turning it into strength. _He would not shout._

"Jay? What are you doing?"

He swerved around, startled, and scowled when he realized it was Zane. "Sitting outside, you idiot." Jay spat at his crush's boyfriend. "Are you blind?"

Zane arched his eyebrows and squinted at Jay.

Zane was not fond of him either.

"No, I'm not. In fact, if you don't remember, I have the best sight in class. It's another thing I excel you from, besides winning over Nya, of course."

Jay looks at the boy with hate and surprise. Zane smiles devilishly. "That's right, I know you're feelings for Nya. I'm not an idiot, as you can see. Or is it you that's blind?"

Jay said nothing, mostly because he had nothing to say. His three-year nemesis just threw every insult that he told back at him. Zane saw this, and smirked.

"What do you want, Zane?" Jay said, his voice low and his question sounding more like a statement.

"I want a lot of things from you, Jay." Zane replied, inviting himself to sit down next to the teen. "Like I want you to stay away from Nya, perhaps leave Ninjago and never return, those kinds of things."

Zane spoke with such smugness that it made Jay grit his teeth. He understood that Zane was not a jerk. He was threatened, and protective of his girlfriend that Jay just happened to be in love with. Still, it was what made Jay hate Zane so much.

"But what I want right now is for you to answer my question. _What are you doing, Jay?_ " Zane said. He smiled devilishly at Jay, knowing that it was a secret that he planned to hold against him.

"I'm doing something, Zane, that means none of your damn business. Knock it off, and go back to sleep." Jay told him, anger and annoyance bubbling in him. All that Jay wanted was to punch Zane as hard as he could, just to unleash his anger out on him. And he's wanted it for three years, since Zane and Nya began dating.

Zane looked at Jay the same way. He thought of his nemesis as a threat to his relationship with Nya. He knew that Jay was good enough for her, and perhaps that they would even be a better couple. Zane just didn't want to let her go.

So, in lightning quick movements, Zane reached over, opened Jay's hands, and saw the suave, not to mention his arm.

"What happened?" Zane asked, stunned. He had never seen such an injury before, or what Jay could have done to get it. The purplish hue it had was unnerving, and the scar-to-be was long and deep. The suave that Jay had put on before Zane walked in made the Moonlight shimmer on it, highlighting the puss that had been built around it.

"So _now_ you're interested in something other than Nya?" Jay spitefully said, stood up, and put the Gamot down. Zane was slightly taller than Jay, but the latter still looked as intimidating, if not more, as he looked at his enemy with held-back anger.

"Look, Zane. I hope that you realize how much I completely despise you. And the only reason why I'm working with you is for Nya, and to get off of this god-forsaken island. Not for you, you see, but for _me._ I'll leave you behind if I must, so don't get in my way. Do you understand me?"

"I understand you completely, Jay." Zane replied with a flat tone. "But listen to this. We are not working together. We are not friends. We are not even acquaintances. You and me, we are nothing. We are enemies. You are my enemy, Jay, and I am yours. I hate you. If you were drowning, I'd grab a hose and plug it into your mouth. If you were on fire, I would take a glass of water and drink it. If Nya would ever, for whatever twisted reason, chose you over me, I would die before you two would go on a single date or share a single kiss. Do you understand _that?"_

Then before Jay could find a retort, Zane got up and went into the cave to go back to sleep, leaving Jay alone with his smoldering hate.


	21. Buried Under Wood

"We need a plan."

It was Nya who had stated this fact, with everybody gathered around a rock that served as a table. Even Cole stood next to his older brother, who had unconsciously put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're right. But we know almost nothing about the way off of this island, for we've never tried to escape," It was Zane who spoke, and he intwined his finger's with his girlfriend's underneath the table, but still making sure that Jay could see it. Jay rolls his eyes mentally, and ignores it.

"Right," Nya replied. "But..."

She pointed a little to the left of the table, where a drawn-out map was scratched in. It looked like they hadn't been the only ones that had used this cave. "The pond in the woods...the Pond of Shimmers? It's the only one that leads to the ocean, and pretty secluded from the Turans. We'd have to go there instead of right to the beach."

Both Kai and Jay exchange looks. It was the pond that Kai had gotten his scar, on both his face and his relationship with Nya.

"Yes. That would be the best spot," said Zane, who was oblivious to the event that had happened. "It will take a while to reach the ocean, but it's the only option we've got."

"One problem, though." Cole cut in. "What about a boat? We won't get very far without one, you know."

"And let's not forget the sapphire." Jay brought up. "Didn't you hear Wu? That's the only gem that can lead us across the ocean, because it's enchanted."

"I remember." Nya responded, and once again, the three subtly exchange glances. Nya in particular dies partially inside. The secret that she keeps, that the very sapphire is in her pocket, kills her every time she thinks of it. "Well, Wu said that he found a sapphire in a cave when he lived during Day. Maybe we can look for a cave and rummage in there. What do you think?"

"Fine," Kai replied. "So who is going into a cave, and who is going to stay here and look for a boat?"

"I'll look in a cave." offers Zane, on the spot. Nya looks at him, unsurprised, but a look of concern for her boyfriend.

"If you're going, I'm going." Nya replies.

"I'll go, too. I...have extra candles." Jay says, hiding any signs that theres another reason, which of course there was. Zane catches his eye, and glares at him subtly. Jay returns it, and turns back.

"Okay, then Cole and I will look for a boat. It must be around here somewhere; after what happened to Wu and Garmadon, Ninjago must have taken more precautionary measures and installed a boat somewhere." Kai reasoned, but Jay put up a hand.

"No. We need Cole here, with the cave clogged so nothing can come in. Night is too dangerous for him." Jay spoke sternly, and Cole rolls his eyes mentally. Jay was being an overprotective brother again.

"Jay, it would make more sense if he went with me." Kai told one of his best friends. "It wouldn't be safe if he was left alone, and a Turan can easily roll the stone away from the entrance with their strength. At least with me, I can protect him and watch out for any dangers, and he's not alone."

"But-" Jay protested, but Nya grips his shoulder and Jay calms down by her touch.

"Jay, Kai's right. Cole will be safe." she reasons with him, and he reluctantly nods. Jay turns back to Kai, and says, "Fine. But take care of him. If there's a scratch on him anywhere, I'll kill you."

Kai agrees and chuckles, even though he knows Jay is serious.

* * *

Later, the five pack and gather their remaining things that they had on themselves when they ran impromptu from the Hut. It wasn't much; a single box of candles and matches, and a few bruised apples. It was made of anything that could fit in their pockets.

"Remember, guys." said Nya. "We all meet here in an hour. If someone isn't back by then, Zane and I will go out and look for them. If we're not back, leave us behind. Understand?"

Kai, Jay, and Cole all nod, understanding; it was something that probably wouldn't happen anyway. And even if it did, they would never leave them behind, no matter what they said.

"Good." Nya said, and turned to her two male companions. "Let's go, while we still can." Nya reached into her pocket and fingered the small sheathed knife, her weapon, and the sapphire. She knew that it would probably be wiser to give it to either Cole or her brother in case she didn't come back, but she didn't want to expose herself just yet, and endure the entire trip to the caves in a tense silence. They would be off focus and the Turan could easily kill a human, especially one that isn't aware of their surroundings.

The three walked out into the Night, the cold hitting them like stones. Nya wrapped her jacket around herself tighter and let out a shiver. The two boys did the same.

They trudged across the beach silently, sand buried in and out of their shoes.

The woods were no better. Dirt swirled in the howling wind and got in their eyes constantly, and they kept on having to wipe it away. "Where is the cave?" Jay practically yelled over the wind. "It's supposed to be here somewhere."

"Well," Nya shouted back. "I'm thinking that if Wu would go rummaging in a cave, it'd be near his house. The Hut would probably be his childhood home, or else he wouldn't have stuck with it for so long. Let's check around there first."

With a plan formed they continued to fight the winds, all with an unsettling set of fear in their stomachs, which was derived from not knowing how everything was going to turn out.

 _What if we don't make it?_ Jay fearfully thought. _What will happen to us? And_ _Cole?_

 _...And Nya?_

Little did Jay know that everyone thought exactly this, even Kai and Cole. They had all been presented with what Night was capable of, and the children knew that a single prayer, a single knife was not enough to ensure their survival.

The scent of fear was reeking in them, and it was consuming.

It was attracting Turans.

* * *

 **TWENTY MINUTES LATER**

"There." Nya said, breathless. "The Hut should be around here."

Zane and Jay looked around themselves, looking for the small shack that was Wu's home. But where they were looked exactly like the rest of the woods. There was no way to tell if they were going the right way or not.

But then they did know, because then Nya spotted it. At first, she thought that it was dilapidated pile of wood that was worn apart by the wind and Night, but as she looked closer, she realized it was the Hut.

Nya gasped, shocked, and sympathetic for Wu as she saw the ripped apart Hut. Zane and Jay, hearing her, ran over to her. "What? What is it?" Jay asked, but then followed Nya's gaze.

They walked over in a shocked silence, and looked in the rummage.

Everything was ajar. Wood lay buried in the dirt and on the ground, attracting flies. Cans of food lay open randomly, unmade food pouring out of the broken tops, and stuffing from the couch was even caught in the branches above. And immediately, everyone knew that this was the Turan's doing.

"Guys," Zane spoke up, his voice wavering. "Look."

Nya and Jay walked over to the teen, who was staring straight at something with a pale face, almost completely white. The two looked down, and the sight made even Nya almost throw up.

It was a body, faced down in the dirt, wood covering it's back and legs. It was rather short-heighted and it's white clothes were almost brown from the dirty ground it lay on.

Before either Nya or Jay could stop him, Zane bent down, and turned it over.

All three shrieked in absolute terror as they saw the identity of the dead body. And when they took their glance, they immediately looked away, and buried it completely under wood again, so that they didn't have to continue looking at it.

It was Wu.

The body was Wu.

Nya was haunted by his body. She saw the blood streaking down his face, starting from the top of his head, and a cake of dried blood on his chin that had flowed out of his mouth before he died. His eyes had been open, completely empty brown orbs, the eyes of death.

Wu was dead.

Nya felt like sobbing, to just collapse.

But Nya shook up her tears and straightened her shoulders.

She would not collapse. She would move on and on, and would rest on the boat to the Dark Island when they acquire it. That was a useful thought, and that was the only thought, she decided, that she was going to use.

No more thinking about tragic deaths and dead bodies. No more worrying about how her parents are without her and Kai. No more worrying about anything else than getting the hell off of this island.


	22. The Darkness: Part I

Kai and Cole walk in silence in the Night, maneuvering through the dark woods, like they had been for the past half hour.

"Ugh," Cole said impatiently. "If I were a boat designed to save helpless kids from an island of death, where would I be?"

Kai smiled at the boy's humor. "Well I would think it would be at the beach, but there wasn't. All of them were taken when everyone left." Kai looked up in the tree branches, as if searching for the answer there. "But there would probably be one by the Pond of Shimmers, the one that Nya talked about. It does lead to the ocean after all, and it's our only option."

Cole nodded, understanding Kai. They followed the path in silence, until finally Kai began to recognize it. It was not the same one that he, Nya and Jay took those months back, but Kai knew the island well enough to know that this path still took him to the pond.

Then there it was, and it lived up to it's name too. The Moonlight simmered off of the surface brightly, making the water look almost white instead of black.

A wave of nostalgia washes over Kai as he gazed at the pond. It was exactly how he remembered it, with the exception of more darkness. The small piece of land in the middle of the body of water was still just as big, and the scene still looked magnificent.

"Kai?"

Cole knocks him out of his trance with the single word, and Kai smiles at the boy. "Let's go. The boat should be by one of the sides."

But before the two could continue, a roaring hiss and a Turan stop them in their tracks as it suddenly leaps from a treetop and lands right in front of them. Cole yelps and stumbles back, while Kai steps in front of him and holds the boy back behind him with his arm protectively.

It looked absolutely hideous and horrifying. It's body resembled a grown man's, muscled and great, and had fur all over it. His face had small patches of hair on his cheeks, and his daggers for teeth glistened in the Moonlight as he grinned evilly.

 _"Puny humans,"_ the male Turan said. _"You are not supposed to be here. This is our town now."_

"What do you want with us?" Kai asked him. The creature continued to smirk, and it grew even wider when he spotted Cole behind Kai.

 _"I know you."_ said the Turan. _"You met my sister. I saw you with her in the cave a while back."_

"That wasn't him, you delusional furball." Kai cut in, and the Turan glanced at him, then back at Cole.

 _"So it seems that even teammates don't tell each other everything, hm?"_ the creature chuckles. Kai turned to the boy behind him halfway, giving him a questioning look.

"Cole, what is he talking about?" Kai asked, and Cole didn't respond. But he didn't have to.

Kai immediately knew what Cole had been hiding, that he already knew what was out there, and didn't want to reveal himself for a reason that Kai still had to ponder.

But now was not the time.

Unannounced, Kai quickly twists himself and lunges at the Turan. Slightly caught off guard, the Turan protects himself with his muscled arm, but Kai overpowered him, and all three hear an awful crack.

"Ah!" the creature yells, cradling his broken arm that Kai had landed on. Kai got off of him quickly, then grabbed Cole by the arm and ran away from the creature, into the woods.

The injured Turan looked down at his arm and watched it magically straighten out and heal itself. Then he too ran into the woods after the two children, in the darkness of Night.

* * *

It was pitch black, and Cole had trouble seeing their way in the woods. He tripped over a large root lying in the middle of the path, falling on his face. Picking him up, Kai continued to run, and to Cole's surprise, he missed tripping all of the roots, avoiding them.

And he wondered how Kai was able to see in the darkness, and be able to avoid all of the roots.

Kai continued to hold back groans as his feet hit the ground. They hurt excruciatingly, and Kai felt they were literally killing him.

But Cole was in trouble, Kai knew, and he had to get them back to the cave before this monster caught up to them.

They stopped when a rustle in the branches and trees above them came to their ears.

"What was that?" Cole whispered, and Kai didn't answer. He knew exactly what that sound was.

"We have to go. Now." Kai replied, and then turned to run once more, when suddenly his body collided with one's in front of him. Kai looked up in fear, still holding a petrified Cole.

It was the Turan, with his arm miraculously healed, and ready to kill them.


	23. The Darkness: Part II

"Find anything?"

"No."

"No, sorry."

Nya sighed heavily. There was no luck with anybody finding another sapphire, and she's been tempted to reveal her secret, that the needed sapphire is in her very pocket.

But she couldn't tell them. Not yet.

"Guys, let's just take a break." Jay said. "I'm tired, and we've been digging forever."

"Fine." Zane agreed, dropping to the floor and wiping dust on his hands. "We'll have to go even lower to find one when we get up again."

The three all sat down, breathing and dreading and giving up. They all knew that they weren't going to find a sapphire, or die trying. This cave that Wu no doubt explored when he was a kid has been empty for several Nights. A sapphire was never going to magically appear.

Sighing, Nya stood up again. She grabbed a pickaxe that had been at the opening of the cave for Day miners, and she started breaking the rocks, looking for another sapphire.

She wasn't just going to find another one. She just refused to expose her secret.

* * *

The Turan stood above them, with his arm miraculously healed, and ready to kill them.

"No!" Cole yelled, arching his eyebrows in determination, and pulled Kai away from the creature. They continued to run for the woods, adrenaline pulsing through their entire body, with just one thing on their mind.

Running away.

Cole kept his head down, watching for protruding roots, as always, so they don't trip over them and slow them down.

Leaves and branches echoed above them loudly and wildly, and the two knew that the Turan wasn't far behind. "Let's go!" Cole called. "Run!"

"I'm trying!" Kai yelled back, still running. An instant later, Kai saw the beach in front of them.

And the cave.

"The cave! It's there! We have to get to it!" Kai told the boy and immediately picked Cole up under his arm and ran with a burst of speed. His feet hurt like crazy, like knives were stuck inside, and every step he took was just forcing it inside even more.

But Kai ignored the pain, even though it was excruciating and he felt blood escape from the soles of his feet, and continued running with Cole under his arm. Suddenly, the creature landed right in front of them, blocking their way out, and immediately punched Kai in the face. It was so hard and so forceful that he dropped Cole as his face flew to the right and he fell over.

Kai groaned holding his cheek, and realized that blood was seeping from the top of his head, flowing freely.

 _"You weaklings."_ the Turan growled joyously. _"You can't destroy me. Now you will come with me to my master and he will kill you."_

Kai knew that the Turan spoke of Overlord, the master from Wu's tale.

And Kai wasn't about to resort himself, and especially not Cole, to a horrible creature like him.

The Turan waited for the two to get up and surrender, and smiled devilishly when Kai slowly stood up, and he smiled wider when Kai put up his fists.

 _"Are you looking for another hit, man?"_ the Turan taunted. _"Fine. What's one more?"_

But Kai caught the creature off guard again when he nailed the same punch on the creature that he had nailed on Kai, and the creature's face swiveled around, but he regained his balance.

When the Turan faced Kai again, though, he was surprised with another hit to the face on the other side.

The first two punches exhilarated Kai, and now he couldn't stop. He continued punching and kicking the creature below him, cowering in a ball in the dirt, wallowing in his dark red blood.

Cole yelled at Kai to stop, and spare him, but Kai barely heard him. He was angry, and he wanted to protect Cole at all costs. Cole was apart of his team, and was worthy to kill for.

But then Cole screamed, and Kai stopped for a moment. "What?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

Cole backed away, a terrified look in his face and in his eyes. Kai looked at the boy, concerned. "What is it?" he asked, and Cole pointed to his hands. Kai looked down on them, and stumbled in shock.

Sticking out of his knuckles were _talons,_ long and sharp, the pointed tip shining in the Moonlight. And they were covered in blood; the Turan's blood. But even when in death, the Turan found laughter, and his laughs echoed through the forest. He knew what Kai was, and so did Cole, and Kai himself.

Kai was one of them.

A Turan, destined to use their talons and their inhuman strength, and their special powers to kill.

"No." Kai spoke, his voice shaking. "It can't be." He looked up at Cole, who had tears in his eyes. "Cole, no. I'm not going to hurt you"

Kai stepped toward Cole, but he backed away fearfully. He didn't want to be the next victim of Kai's talons, and perhaps face the same fate as the Turan.

"Cole!" Kai shouted, and reached out for the boy, but instead his talons reached all the way to him, and cut him across the ear. Cole gave a shout and clutched his ear, which was squirting blood and seeping into the little boy's hands.

Kai looked at what he had done in horror.

 _"You are one of us, now."_ the almost-dead Turan spoke, a disgusting smile on his face. _"You are what I am, and nothing can ever change that. Not even you."_

Welling up with tears, Kai turned and ran into the woods, feeling his feet begin to lose feeling.

He can never go back. He can't hurt another one of his friends.

He isn't even the same species as his sister.


	24. Separated

It all made sense.

How had he not seen it before?

Kai sprinted across the forest, panting and sobbing. His feet hurt so much that that he has begun limping, and with no destination, but he didn't care if it was at the bottom of the Ninjago Canyon.

He could still hear the rustling of leaves and branches in the treetops, far away, which must be where the Tura are. But Kai didn't care at all; he just had to get away, before he hurt someone else.

Kai looked down at his talons, which were swishing and swinging in the air from his knuckles.

Then Kai looked up, and stopped just in time, or else his destination _would_ be at the bottom of the Ninjago Canyon.

Kai fell down to his bottom, sitting at the edge of the cliff, and he cried freely. Tears flowed out into his hands and slipped off his talons.

Immediately, Kai took off his boots, and tossed them aside. He wouldn't need them anymore.

And then he saw why his feet hurt so much.

Thorns and even more talons stretched out almost everywhere, one from his ankle, and five from each of his toenails. Blood swirled and flowed down form the areas, which had wet his boots.

And then Kai noticed that fur had spawned and grown all over his body.

He was becoming a Turan.

Kai laid on his back, looking at the Stars.

How had he not seen it before? The inhuman strength he had used to defend himself against the Turan in the room, the night vision he had used to read the note in the mansion, to see Nya in the fog, and to sprint through the woods without looking down because he could _see_ the roots.

And the dreams. That was what had caused the dreams of the mysterious woman, and the Rushes he got when a voice spoke to him.

Kai put his hands to his face, wondering how he could be so dumb. It was so obvious.

Why hadn't he seen it before?

A rustle behind him breaks him from his distressful thoughts.

 _"I told you to not be in the woods during Night, Kai."_

And then everything went black.

* * *

Cole's injured ear rang loudly, and he felt dizzy. He tried to sit up, but regretted it once the rush in his head came. He couldn't move.

"Cole! You're awake!" Jay's voice said, and relief filled the little boy. There was somebody who had saved him after all.

Jay sat the boy up, careful of his injured ear that was in a bloody bandage. Nya and Zane were there also, and all three seemed to be sharing the same relief Cole felt.

"Cole, how are you feeling?" Zane asked, concerned. Cole nodded.

"I'm fine, just shocked." he replied. "What happened?"

"We thought that you knew." Nya said, and suddenly everything came rushing back to him. The Turan, the woods.

Kai, turning into a monster, and cutting his ear with...with his _talon._

"I-I" Cole stuttered, unsure of how to put his story. It was too much for anybody, especially him, to take. Nya's brother, if that was what he even was at all, was a _monster._ A Turan, destined to kill them all.

"Cole, I know you, and I know that look." Jay told him sternly. "You're hiding something. What is it?"

"We're just trying to find Kai. When we found you, he wasn't there, and we're worried about him." Nya added, and her eyes showed just that. She wanted to know where her brother was.

And she deserved to know.

"Y-you shouldn't feel worried about him."

It slipped out before he could stop it. But it was true. Cole wasn't worried at all for Kai. He hurt him. He's a monster now, no longer any of their friends. As hard as it'll be to accept this, it was the truth and a fact.

Kai can no longer be accepted.

Cole watched his friend's and his brother's faces as he tells them exactly what happened, and what Kai had done.

And exactly what Cole thought of it.

Nya had her hands over her mouth, and looked as if she was about to break down right there, but Cole doubted it severely. He knew Nya, and it didn't sound like her at all.

Jay had his eyebrows raised, and anger blatantly showing in his eyes, and Cole could tell he was more mad than anything else, that his best friend hurt his brother.

And Zane looked stoic, as always, but underneath, anger, sadness, and disbelief that he couldn't have known before. All the signs had been there, but he was too dim and unfocused to notice.

"Do you know where he is?" Nya asked in a shaky voice, and Zane clasped his hand around hers, and Jay did the same, and tenderly.

"No. Sorry." Cole said sincerely. "But I don't want to know. Like I said, he isn't on our side anymore, and he shouldn't be. He's not even our same species."

"Cole, he's my _brother_ and I _love him."_ Nya bursts. "And I will go look for him and _find_ him, if it's the last thing I do."

"And it probably will be." Cole responds. "He's going to kill you, you know. A single scratch from his talon caused _this."_ Cole points to his bloody ear that was soaking the bandage.

"Fine." Nya said bravely. "I'll deal with him. I'll figure something out. But I am not just going to sit here and do nothing while Kai is out there alone and has no idea what he's doing."


	25. The Shelter

Head pounding.

The sensation of swinging, from side to side.

Kai lets out a groan as he wakes up, and his eyes open slowly. His talons dangle below him, swinging with the strange movement, and although still dirty from the blood of the dead Turan, it still gleamed in the light.

His eyes suddenly widen as he realizes where he was. He hung from the shoulder of another Turan, and he could feel the prickly fur through his pants and his shirt. The creature was tall; Kai could tell from the distance between his upside-down head and the ground.

Kai let out an involuntary scream, and immediately, the creature that had slung him over it's shoulder threw him down into the dirt and covered his mouth.

 _"You fool._ _You will get us both killed."_

Kai snaps his eyes up. He recognized that voice.

It was the voice of the woman from his nightmares.

"It's you," he said. "You're the one who's been in my dreams."

 _"Correct."_ she replied. _"But I will explain everything later, including what is going on, and what you are."_

A flush of relief was flung over Kai. So far, she seemed more friend than foe, but he was not so naive to immediately trust her. After all, she just kidnapped him, and is bringing him to who-knows-where.

 _"Now are you going to shut up, or do I have to do it for you?"_ the woman asked, whoever she was. Kai nodded, that yes, he was going to keep quiet.

But then suddenly the woman's head snapped up and looked past Kai's shoulder, and he looked back too. They had both heard it.

Someone was coming.

 _"Did anyone follow you?"_

"No. Nobody would care enough to." Kai replied, his heart breaking as he said it.

 _"Well_ _apparently somebody did."_ the woman said, before scooping Kai up again and slung him onto her shoulder as if he was a burlap bag with barely anything in it. _"We must go. I know a nearby shelter. We'll have to hide there."_

Kai said nothing as he was carried, and quickly, across the forest, the ride so bumpy, as if she was running on large rocks.

And he wondered who could have cared enough to know where he was to look for him.

* * *

"Kai!" Nya yelled through the forest. "Kai, where are you?"

"Sh!" Cole hissed from behind her. "They're going to hear you!"

"What, is that another thing you learned when you went on without us, and then carelessly stumbled upon a Turan?" Jay growled, and immediately pushed Cole behind him again.

"Stop it, everyone." Zane cut in. "They will hear us all."

After Nya had decided to attempt to find her brother, the rest had agreed, but only because they wanted to make sure that Nya would be okay, although they knew fully what she was capable of.

But they didn't know just what Kai was going to do to her once she found him.

And so all four were in the cold woods, drenched in on-and-off rain, and shivering through their coats. "Where could he be?" Nya asked nobody, eager to find Kai and go back to the warmth of the cave on the beach.

But then she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, and smiled when she saw it was Jay. "We'll find him." he said. "We'll make sure he won't hurt you." Then he wrapped one of his coats around her, and immediately Nya felt so much more warmer.

Zane watched all of this from behind, and a large chunk of envy rose up in him. He watched how happy Nya was with Jay, and then not just envy, but sadness filled him.

He knew that he would eventually lose her to Jay, and that it definitely wouldn't be long. Nya never looked at him like she did Jay.

And although she didn't know it, they were meant to be together.

But Zane refused to let her go, and keep her to himself. He would die before he would let Jay and Nya be together.

Zane put an arm around her and subtly led her away from Jay, until they were a good distance far behind him.

But Nya was no fool. "Zane, what are you doing?" she asked, shaking Zane's arm free of her shoulders. "Are you trying to lead me away from Jay? We're just friends, and neither of us is looking to be anything more."

Zane held back his surprise.

She really didn't know of Jay's feelings? And she didn't return it?

"There is nothing to be jealous about." Nya told him sternly, and kissed him on the cheek. "I only like you, Zane. Only you. There is nobody else I would like better."

Zane smiled.

 _She doesn't know._

"I'm sorry." Zane replied, kissing Nya's forehead. "You're right. Let's go."

* * *

The fire crackled in no time, and the light filled the area of the cave that Kai and the female Turan hid, with wool wrapped around them.

"Thank you. You know, for...picking me up and stuff." Kai said uncertainly, and the Turan smiled slightly, then immediately switched back to a stoic face. Then, she got up and went to the corner of the cave, where the light was barely shining over, and dug into a crate. She pulled out two apples and tossed one to Kai, which he caught.

 _"My people and I go hunting for food to put in shelters before the Moon rises, so that if anybody is lost while hunting they can stay here until they are able to find their way back."_ she explained, biting into her apple, and then Kai did the same. It seemed to be the only unbruised apple that he had eaten since the end of Day.

"You seem to have a good tribe." Kai commented. "I mean, diligent, focused, and they know how to get the job done,"

 _"Yes, my tribe is good."_ she replied. _"But it's only because our leader forces us to be."_

"Overlord?" Kai blurts out, and then he immediately regrets it.

The Turan paused for a few seconds before she replied, _"Yes. Him. He forces us to do these things, or else we are executed."_

"It is a little harsh, but you have to do what you must to keep your tribe in order."

 _"You don't understand."_ she said sternly. _"He is merciless. He killed my mother because she brought back enough food for_ _everybody except for Overlord. He slaughtered her, and then almost everybody there. I was lucky to be alive."_

The two were silent for a moment before Kai spoke up. "I-I'm sorry..."

The female sighed and she stood up turning her back to Kai. _"What would you like to know?"_

Kai was caught off guard, unsure of what he really wanted to know. He had been focused on running away from her- and his- species that he hadn't thought of it.

"Please tell me who you are." he asked, and she replied.

 _"My name is Misako. I am very young, born only two Nights ago, and a Turan. And...I am the Overlord's daughter."_


	26. Not Much Time

The group of four shivered as they continued to trek in the forest. Sleet and hail had become a downpour, and it drenched them all, making them wish they were safe and dry in their cave by the beach.

Jay wrapped his uninjured arm around his brother, careful not to brush Cole's scraped cheek, and not to reveal his infection to him. Cole rolled his eyes; his brother didn't even think that he could handle rain. Seriously?

Nya wrapped Jay's jacket around her tighter, feeling it's fabric in her hands, and she smiled. She didn't even know why.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Zane, who was next to her. Nya shrugged.

"I don't know." she replied, her smile slowly dissolving. "I guess I'm just...thinking about seeing my parents again, I guess."

Zane kissed her on the cheek, and she looked up at him, seeing his eyes twinkle. "Well, don't stop. I like it when you smile. You look beautiful when you do."

Nya immediately obliges and smiles again. "Thanks." she replies, and returns Zane's kiss on his cheek. And for the moment, Zane smirks at Jay, who had turned and looked behind at her. Jay narrows his eyes and turns back around.

Suddenly something in Zane halts him, and Nya stops with him. His blue eyes were wide, as if he was looking at something incredible, and Nya looked up at him.

"Zane? What's wrong?" she asked.  
"I'm sensing something," Zane replied in a monotonous voice. "Something is following us."

* * *

"You're the Overlord's daughter?" asked Kai, his mouth agape and his mouth hanging open. Misako almost smiled, amused at Kai's reaction. "Overlord. The one who killed Wu? Tore down his hut? Stole Garmadon from him? Leader of the ruthless Turans? Your father?"

"Yes." Misako answered. "Now would you quiet down? The others will come for us. In case you haven't realized, Turans have naturally tuned hearing."

"I know," said Kai, though he was surprised he wasn't the only one.

Silence was suddenly loud, but to neither of them was it really awkward. But Misako spoke again, anyway."I know that you are curious about where you come from." she said. "Let me show you something."

She stood up, and curiously Kai followed her. Misako led him to the back of the cave, where the light from the fire didn't even reach, and the opening to the cave was no longer visible.

"Look," she said, pointing to the roof of the caves. Kai looked up, and his night vision served him well that he didn't need any light to see it.

They were pictures, obviously drawn with dirt, smeared everywhere but still understandable. It showed a man and a woman standing side by side, the male figure holding a spear. And then Kai was taken aback that the woman figure had small dots of black on the shape representing her face.

Kai looked at Misako next to him, seeing her give him and unreadable look. "Yes, that is me." she said. "I drew this."

"What was he like?" Kai asked, gesturing to the man with the spear."He was very handsome." she replied. "And...he was a human."  
Kai looked up at her in shock. "How long ago was this?" he asked.

"One Night ago." Misako said. "I was very young. He was a Day-dweller. Our marriage was forbidden, and my father the Overlord couldn't find out, or else he would kill my husband. So...I helped him escape. He arrived at the Dark Island safely, and my father didn't even know he existed."

Kai was silent for a while before he spoke. "I'm sorry." he said. Then, "What does it have to do with me?"

When she didn't answer, Kai looked up, and saw Misako looking at him with an illegible look. "What?" Kai asked.

"Nothing." replied Misako, sighing. Kai looked at her quizzically. He knew that the story meant more than she was letting on. But he dropped it. Perhaps she was going to tell him more soon.

"Why did you not leave with the other people of Day?" she asked. Her voice wasn't harsh nor demanding, just curious and a little flat. Kai sighed, hesitating to tell the story.

"My best friend Jay went missing right before the boats arrived, so my sis-" Kai caught himself. "Nya and I went looking for him in the woods. When we came back, the boats were gone, and the entire town went with them. And then my other friends Zane and Cole arrived later."

Kai looked up at Misako. "But I guess you already knew that, didn't you?"

Misako had been responsible for the Rushes in his head that told him everything, he realized. And the woman that appeared in his nightmares, with the flowing gray dress. It was always her, watching him in the shadows, even when he was awake.

"Yes." she replied. Kai looked expectantly at her, and so she spoke again.  
"Kai," Misako said. "How was your town founded?"  
"Mayor Dareth's ancestors first bought this land a couple hundred years ago, and Ninjago was created from

scratch." Kai answered simply. "Why?"

"I wanted to see what lies your teacher and your so-called Mayor told you. That's not what happened."

"Then what did?" demanded Kai, curious to find out exactly what lies have been told to him.

"I ask because it's always been the agreement to leave during Night for us Turans and we go into hiding during Day. It's always been that way." Misako got up and stalked up to Kai.

Suddenly she looked angry.

"You broke the agreement. You and your friends, the moment you decided you wanted to stay. Isn't that right?"

"We didn't know about the agreement, okay? We got left behind by accident. We're trying to leave now." Kai told her tightly. "We meant to leave you know."

"But. You. Didn't." Misako seethed. Kai became silent. "You know what happens to people who don't leave? We kill them. We kill them because that was the deal."

"Your mayor's 'ancestor' was the person who made the deal with Garmadon. That was how the arrangement came." Misako turned to Kai. "I bet they didn't tell you that, did they?"

Kai didn't speak. He only looked at the female Turan with a stoic face.

"The Dark Island used to be our nest. Did you know that?" asked Misako, and although Kai knew that she was serious, she sounded like she was mocking him. "I'll bet you didn't. Because everyone lies to you. Everyone. Even that girl you call your sister, Nya, is probably lying to you. Your parents lied to you. Your mayor lied to you. All of your friends are lying to you. But you don't see it, do you? You only see with vision. But because you are so dumb and unobservant, you don't see things right in front of your faces."

"That's not true." defended Kai.

"Of course it is." Misako answered. "You didn't know a lot, you know. And another thing-"

Misako, Kai knew, was about to say something else when a high-pitched scream filled their ears. It was loud, but it sounded far away. Misako and Kai faced each other, then broke out into a run, sprinting into the woods.

There was only one group in the woods that could be in trouble.


	27. Leap and Land

Nya screamed again as the Turan leapt once more, his claws scrapping the trunk of the tall tree, narrowly missing her shoes. The boys above her climbed fiercely up the tree, trying to get as far away from the Turan as possible. Cole was dangling dangerously from his brother's arm as Jay tried to pull his own and Cole's weight up the tree.

Zane reached down and pulled her up with all his might just in time. One more second and her leg would have been in the teeth of the Turan. It's mouth bit down on nothing, and it growled fiercely.

"Let's go!" he called to the others. "Higher!"

"We can't...climb...any higher!" Jay gasped, out of breath, and his heart pounding with fear. How the hell were they going to get out of this?

Rustling of the leaves echoed throughout the trees, and they all looked up. They knew what it meant.

But then for a moment everything fell silent. Even the hostile Turans stopped their growling and waited.

Then suddenly Cole cried out as a Turan leapt out suddenly from above in the leaves, it's claws reaching down while another claw supported it on the trunk.

Now they had nowhere to run. They were trapped. To go up meant a maul by knife-like claws, and to go down meant to be eaten alive by even sharper teeth. And it was no use outrunning them; their speed, the kids knew, was nothing compared to the Turans.

 _"You will come down at some point!"_ exclaimed the creature, growling. _"Your arms will not hold you forever!"_ At the same time, it gnashed it's teeth, and it's blood-stained mouth gleamed.

But the Turan's words only supported them more, and they held their ground. But the Turans were right. Already, their arms were getting tired, and the rough bark under their palms were beginning to give them callouses, and perhaps draw blood.

Then suddenly Cole slipped. Jay caught him, his arm outstretched, and Jay winced, almost crying out. It was his bad arm, his infected arm.

And Cole saw it clearly.

He stared, wide-eyed at it. "Jay," he said. "Your arm!"

"I know." Jay replied, ready to cry out in pain from supporting weight on his injury, and quickly, he pulled his brother up. "I know."

"It's really bad Jay. What'd you do to it?"

"Not now, Cole." Jay told his brother sternly. "I'll tell you later."

But before Cole could say anything more, there was suddenly a roar that seemed to echo all around them. Jay looked around, as did the rest. The two Turans stood their ground, growling at them from below and above.

And to their surprise, thousands of Turans emerged from the darkness of the woods, growling and baring their blood-red teeth. They were on their fours, like wolves, and their talons seemed to jump out at them intimidatingly.

Jay looked behind him, and saw that it was the same on both sides. He widened his eyes in fear. Now there really was no way of getting out. They were surrounded.

Then there was a sharp sensation that made Jay cry out. It slashed across his back left to right, and he worked hard not to fall off of the tree. Then Jay saw the Turan from above, his talons now featuring a thin layer of blood on the tips of it's talons.

"Jay!" Nya cried from below.

And then the Turan, raising it's clawed fist, punched Jay hard and sent him falling off of the tree. And on the way down his body hit Cole, Zane, and Nya, leaving them all fall to the ground.

Then the whole world shadowed out from view, darkening, the last thing the four saw the terrible claws of their enemy, which had brought them down.

* * *

Kai and Misako sprinted across the woods, only their scent to follow. They were on fours, and they were going fast, faster than Kai had ever gone before.

"Stop." Misako told him, and quickly, they did. They both stood on twos, and Kai looked at the woman.

"What is it?"

 _"I've lost the scent."_ she said. _"Can't you tell?"_

Kai tried to smell the air again, like he had been several seconds ago, and found she was right. It was gone.

"Why? What's happened?" Kai asked, but in a sort of demanding voice.

 _"I don't know."_ Misako replied. But then Kai saw a glint in her eyes, something that didn't come from the Moonlight.

"You're hiding something."

 _"I'm not."_

Then Kai, with the quickest reflexes he didn't know he had, pressed Misako against a nearby tree with his talons to her throat. "You bitch!" he cried. "That is my _family_ that you are hiding from me. _My_ family! I may be a Turan, and they may be human, but dammit, I still care where they are. So don't even try to hide _anything! Where are they!"_

 _"I don't know,"_ Misako told him, almost no hint of fear in her voice. _"...but I can tell you what's happened to them."_

 _"What."_ Kai asked, his voice low.

 _"The warriors have captured them and hidden their scent. They're taking them to the underground layer. That's where the nest is."_ Misako hesitated.

"Where is it?"

 _"I'm not telling you."_

"Where is it?"

 _"I'm not telling you."_

"Where is it?"

 _"I'm not telling you."_

"Where is it?"

 _"I'm not telling you."_

"Arg!"Kai growled angrily. "Where is it?!"

 _"Kai that is my home. I refuse to tell you."_

"I'm not going to harm anyone, Misako. I'm just going to get my family."

 _"Which they won't let you do unless you kill them."_ Misako told him firmly.

"I'm not going to kill them."

 _"How do I know?"_

"Have I lied to you before?"

Misako quiets down. _"They're my family."_ she says.

Kai sighed and looked down. "Misako, I won't inflict anything anything on your tribe. You have my word."

 _"You'll have to find it on your own."_ Misako told him. _"I'm not going to help you any further."_

"Fine." Kai said. He took his talons away from her throat and unhanded her. Then with a quick leap, he grabbed hold of the tree above the woman and anchored himself into the wood with his talons. He climbed up to the top in the trunk and emerged from the leaves.

 _No wonder Turans come in from the treetops._ Kai thought.

The treetops could be seen as if it stretched across the world and back on either sides. It was discontinuing, and the leaves were still a lush green, though the coldness and cruelty of Night had fought against it. And still, the leaves and the trees were just the same.

Then there was the Moon. It gleamed against the Night sky, lighting it up slightly, and it made Kai feel a twinge of calmness. It wasn't so dark anymore.

Then with that, Kai leapt again and landed on another tree trunk. And then something clicked.

Kai leapt again, and landed on another treetop. Leap. Land. Leap. Land.

Leap.

Land.

Leap.

Land.

A continuous cycle captured Kai, and all emotion and thoughts temporarily faded away. It became the only thing in his head, the only thing that Kai thought about.

 _Leap._

 _Land._

 _Leap._

 _Land._

Then suddenly he was at the end of the forest. Kai looked around, as if for the first time, and realized he was at the canyon. He sniffed the air, and smelled anger, revenge, and joy.

And Kai realized that this was the nest. The nest to Turans.

Where his family was.

 _I'm coming._ Kai thought, and leapt down into the darkness.


	28. Climbing the Crevice

Jay groaned and rolled on his back. A fire-like sensation rippled across, and he cried out in pain. He sat up, and he realized that his stomach was wrapped in shredded cloth, and his arms were tied behind him. His back still tingled with pain, and it felt as if it reached the bone.

His neck also hurt terribly as he tried to move, and he tasted a metallic taste near his mouth. It was grainy as it rolled on his tongue, and immediately, Jay spat it out. He had tasted dirt.

It was obvious that he couldn't move.

Then a terrible thought hit him in the head, and immediately, he called out quietly, "Nya! Cole! Zane?"

But all that answered him was silence and blackness, and he sat in the middle of it. "Guys?"

 _"They're not going to answer you, you know."_

The voice had been close by, as if the being that the voice belonged to was right above him. But of course Jay couldn't tell, since the darkness totally surrounded him.

"Help me," he said, and coughed as the dust on the cave floor entered his mouth.

 _"But I already have. If it weren't for me, you would have frozen to death outside."_

Slowly Jay began to gather his senses. The voice was definitely male, deep and even, and he could clearly tell he wasn't alone with the being. He could feel dozens more eyes on him, and for all he knew, they were no closer than the speaker was to him just then.

"...Who are you?" Jay asked, his voice hoarse, and he coughed again. "What do you want with me? Why do you want me alive?"

 _"I'll explain all soon."_ said the voice. _"But only when you've told me where you've taken her."_

"Who?"

 _"My daughter."_

"Your daughter?"

 _"Misako. I know that you've taken her, and I know that you know where she is."_

"I don't know anyone named Misako! I swear! I don't know where she is!"

 _"Liar!"_

Suddenly Jay was thrown across the air; he felt the feeling of his body leaving the ground and flying through midair, and he hit a rock wall on his back, and he cried out.

 _"Make him climb the wall with the others."_ The voice called. _"Maybe it'll get him and his friends to talk."_

Then Jay felt furry limbs wrap around his arms and drag his feet across the pebbled cave floor. He hung his head, not bothering to look up. He closed his eyes; he was tired, both physically and emotionally. Tired of running, tired of being captured, tired of this adventure. Jay wished that it was over, and he was on the boats headed for the Dark Island.

Suddenly Jay could see light through his closed eyelids, and he opened them. He was in a crevice, two walls surrounding him and the army dragging him, which he now knew were Turans. The walls grew high, ten times or more his height.

 _The Ninjago Canyon._ Jay thought. _So that's where their Nest is._

 _"Hurry up!"_ the male voice yelled. _"I don't want to wait."_

Jay was dragged to the rock wall on his left, his head still down, until a familiar voice spoke to him.

"Jay? Is that you?"

He raised his head and looked over to see Nya. Her short hair was ratted, her eyes drooping, and dirt all over her face. Her clothes were battered, ripped, and dirty, and she looked tired.

But by far, she was the most beautiful woman Jay had ever seen her.

"It's me, Nya. Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. Bruised and aching, but fine." she replied, sounding almost breathless. "Why did they bring us here?"

"I don't know." Jay sighed. "I wish I did. Where's Cole and Zane?"

Nya shrugged and shook her head. "Don't know. I came out alone, about ten minutes before you did."

Then the voice the had spoken to Jay in the cave yelled again. _"If the children won't talk, I suppose we'll make them...CLIMB THE WALL!"_

"What?" both Jay and Nya said. They looked at the steep cannon wall ahead of them, the one that led to the forest at the top.

 _"Think about all those times that you came home to your houses to find_ their _skin cells,_ their _finger and toe nails, and their germs. These humans treat us with no respect. They're frail! They're weak! So how's it to prove it, and make them climb this wall? If they make it, well, they're free. But if not, they die."_

The Turan that said this was the same one in the cave with Jay. He came through the group of Turans gathered around Jay and Nya, and looked them in the eye.

"You!" Jay exclaimed. "You killed Wu!"

 _"Perhaps,"_ the Overlord said. _"And now I'm going to kill you too."_

Jay and Nya had to turn their bodies to look at the Overlord. They were tied to the cliff so that they wouldn't move. _"Cut the ropes!"_ he called, and two Turans came forward and did so. _"Climb!"_

The two had nowhere else to go but up. They were surrounded by the creatures, again, and it would be useless to fight them.

"Let's go." Nya said, turning to Jay, and smiled. Then she grabbed hold of the cliff and began to climb, Jay following suit.

* * *

Not a great lengths away, Kai jumped down into the crevice and felt himself free-fall, then caught himself on the wall, digging his talons into the canyon's cracks and holes. Then slowly he lowered himself down the wall until he reached the bottom.

Everything was empty, but he could tell that the Turans were definitely there. He could hear with his high-tuned ears their excited shouts and voices.

Kai got down on his hands and knees and felt his talons touch the rock floor. Then as fast as he could, he began to run.


	29. Unsheathing

Kai sprinted on all fours across the canyon floor, kicking up dust behind him. He breathed in and out, only concentrating on the road ahead of him, not looking back, and he counted the times his feet and his talons hit the dust.

He kept his ears and eyes open, using them as much as he could to track his family. The shouts were getting louder, and it was very obvious they were Turan. Their screeches and yells were so much different than a human's.

Moving faster, Kai felt himself speed up, and the wind began hitting his face, his heart beating faster. Kai let out a roar.

Then suddenly something clicked. It seemed to connect to something, something that had been missing a long time. It forced Kai to run faster, to roar, to let anger and adrenaline flow through him. It overtook him, carried him through the canyon at a speed he didn't know he could master. Everything ran by quickly, his heart beating faster. All he focused on was running, sprinting, breathing. Running. Sprinting. Breathing.

And then Kai was flying. Soaring across the dirt, a cloud forming behind him.

He was coming.

* * *

Jay's hand slipped, and he quickly regained balance. Nya, who was ahead of him, looked down. "You okay?" she called, but all Jay could do was nod.

By now they were a little ways off from the yelping and screaming Turans, cheering, hoping for them to fall. It wasn't hard to tell some of them had already bet on which one of them was going to die first.

Nya worked hard, and felt sweat form and run down her forehead. She hoped dearly it would not reach her fingers, and she would slip. That was all that it would take.

She anchored her feet into the footholds, trying to find something stable. She remembered that day on the cliff, with Jay, when she touched the ice for the first time. It was nailed into her mind, simply refusing to let go.

Jay looked up at her, worried. He too was beginning to sweat, to pant, to quit. It was a familiar feeling while climbing, and something he felt more than several times.

"Are you okay?" Nya asked once again, and Jay managed to call, "Fine. Let's go. We can do this."

Nya was not assured. She could hear clearly his heavy breaths and uncertainty in his voice, and it discouraged her.

What if they didn't make it to the top of the cliff?

* * *

Cole woke up with a jolt, choking on dust that had entered his mouth. His voice echoed, and the boy stopped immediately.

Where was he?

Forcing his legs to work, he got up. It was pitch black, with no sign of light anywhere. No sign of life.

"Hello?" he called, feeling with his hands around the blackness, hoping to catch something. "Hello? Anyone? Jay? Nya? Zane?"

No answer. Cole kept his hands out, searching, but found nothing.

 _"Looking for someone?"_

"Ah!" Cole yelped, and fell backwards on rock ground. "Who said that? Show yourself!"

 _"Well it's too dark to do_ that." the voice replied. _"Since you humans can't see in the dark."_

"You're a Turan!" Cole exclaimed, stumbling back. "Who are you?"

 _"I'm unimportant, Cole."_ the voice said. _"But you are not. You can do something. You have a purpose for our tribe."_

Suddenly Cole felt hands on him, fur brushing his skin, hands over his mouth, and voices all around him. The hands were hitting him, taloned feet scratching and kicking him. Cole fell to the floor.

 _"You're smart. You're observant. And all you want is to be part of the action."_

"Stop!" he said. "Please!"

 _"No!"_ the voice replied. _"You are ours now. And you will help us find your friend Zane. He's escaped. You are our hope of finding that boy, and you are going to help us."_

* * *

Fear was beginning to get the better of him. He should have never escaped. He should have never left them behind. What would Nya think?

Zane stumbled along in the forest, keeping eyes and ears open for any creatures to capture him again.

He groaned, clutching his shoulder, walking and limping past trees and only focusing on the journey ahead. All he could think about was getting away. Leaving. Abandoning.

He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't keep up this act that he could do this. He couldn't. He knew from the beginning when the Turan first came to the Mayor's mansion, much earlier. When the door rattled, when the five hash marks appeared on that wooden door.

Zane felt terrible, terrible for leaving Nya. For giving up, something she would never do. He looked up to her, she inspired him. She became his girlfriend, and now how does Zane repay her? Leaving this to them.

He let a few tears fall freely, and continued to stumble. To walk.

Then he realized he no longer cared what happened to him. A Turan could just as well leap out of the bushes and slash a sword through his chest. A hole could appear in front of him, and make him fall through to his death. A sword could turn up in his hand, and Zane would...

What would he do?

Zane pondered this. He fingered his sheathed knife, a weapon that he had acquired, and thought.

If he didn't care, if he was this troubled, why not do it? Nya would be mad at him for escaping and abandoning them anyway. Jay wouldn't care. Cole is too young to understand. And Kai...well...isn't one of them anymore.

Zane pulled out his knife.

And he unsheathed it.

He stared at it's gleaming blade, shining though the Moon wasn't out. It's handle felt rough in the boy's hands, but comfortable. Zane touched the blade. It was sharp, and a small pinprick of blood appeared on his index finger. Zane quickly wiped the finger on his clothes.

How would it feel if that blade went through his chest? His stomach, at that moment? What would it sound like? What would the Turan find?

What would Nya think?


	30. I Want You To Know

Cole felt a tug at his ear, talons nearly digging under his skin. The Turans were dragging him across the cave, leaving the boy's feet to drag behind him. Two hands gripped him by his underarms, and one hand was on his earlobe.

"Let go of me!" Cole cried out, tears nearly streaming down his face. "Where are you taking me?"

Cole's cries were sadly in vain. All that the boy could do was struggle against the Turan's hold, but he knew it would be no use. A small body like his was no match for theirs.

The two Turans dragged Cole as they made an abrupt turn, but Cole couldn't see this. His eyes were blinded by the darkness of the cave, and couldn't even see the creatures that held him.

Then the two captors stopped, and stood very still. There was a whooshing noise next to him, and Cole could sense that their arms were to their foreheads in a salute. It was then that Cole realized that they were waiting for orders. The very anticipation was enough to send a deep pit in Cole's stomach.

 _"Bring him to the Cave!"_ a voice from nowhere told the captors. _"The Overlord will be waiting."_

Fear overtaking Cole, he felt himself led through the darkness. He struggled, but all that left was the talons digging into his ear, and their holds tightening around his arms.

 _"You aren't going anywhere. Not alive, anyway."_ a voice next to him hissed. " _The Overlord will be sure of that."_

The two captors laughed, which echoed off of the walls of the cave that Cole couldn't see.

Cole then felt the air change, the temperature becoming slightly warmer, and the thundering sound of roaring coming from somewhere not far away.

Then suddenly he could see, as the darkness disappeared, lights of all colors twinkling on the walls of the caves. In the center of the large room were Turans of all sizes, but all with the same glimmer in their eyes. In the middle of the crowd sat, unmistakably, the Overlord.

 _"Is this the boy?"_ Overlord asked. His voice was deep and authority reeked from it. The Turans holding Cole nodded, and the Overlord gestured to bring Cole to him.

 _"You,"_ he hissed at the boy. _"You let your friend escape?"_

"No!" Cole replied, his volume higher than he intended. "I swear! I was knocked out the whole time!"

 _"Then how did he get out?"_ Overlord asked, his black and purple eyes gleaming with anger and annoyance. _"His prison was surrounded by many warriors. There was only one way out, and that was with death."_

"Maybe he knew that."

 _"What?"_

"Maybe he knew that and used it to his advantage." Cole said, his voice barely audible. "He was always really smart."

 _"How would he have done this?"_

"I don't know, but I've known him pretty much my whole life, and he always could figure it out." Cole replied, voice shaking.

 _"Then find him!"_ Overlord shouted suddenly, making Cole jump. _"We must not let him escape."_ He then looked at the boy, who was being held by his troops. _"Discard of this boy. We no longer need him. Throw him off the cliff or something."_

"NO!" Cole yelled, and his shouts reverberated off of the cave walls as he was yet again dragged, and this time, he wasn't coming back.

* * *

Sweat dripped and slid and dampened Jay and Nya's hands and arms as they clung on to the cliff as long as she could. Nya looked up, her eyes nearly closed and her hair soaked with sweat. There was still a pretty long way, about a hundred feet. And the two weren't sure if they were going to make it.

Jay looked at Nya. He looked at her hands. They glistened with perspiration, and her forehead was lined with worry. And her eyes were beginning to lose its glint of hope.

Jay looked toward the top, which still looked so far away, and then at the bottom. They'd come a long way, but it hadn't looked like it'd been much.

"Jay?" Nya asked, and Jay looked at her. She was looking at him curiously, panting and her arms shaking. "Jay, what is it?"

"Nya..." he said. "I don't think we're going to make it."

Nya didn't reply. Her head hung down, her limbs trembling from the pressure and strain.

"I know." she finally said. "I know."

"I've got to tell you something." Jay said, before he could stop himself.

"I've got to tell you something too..." said Nya, and she looked nervous too. "Jay, about the sapphire.."

"That can wait." said Jay. "This is too important to hold off another second."

Nya was looking at him again, and Jay's heart began to pound heavier.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I have to say it now. I just don't know how much time we have left. If I don't tell you now, then you're never going to know. It's now or never."

"Jay, what-"

"Nya, I love you."

It had taken only one second to say it, and once Jay felt the words come from his tongue, he felt a huge weight lift off of him, and then he couldn't stop.

"Nya, there were days when I'd just watch you while we were together, and I just started to feel something. It was always the little things with you that did it for me. Like your laugh or the way that your hands moved when you talked to me, or when you'd put your arm around me when we were just joking around and...it was everything about you."

Jay couldn't stay in one place any longer. He began to slowly climb upwards, and Nya followed him. She had not said one word, but there were tears in her eyes and her eyebrows were creased together, as if trying to understand something complex.

As they moved gradually upward, Jay kept talking.

"And when you chose to go out with Zane, it killed me. Because when I saw you two together, it was the kind of magic I felt with you. And I could never tell you, because all I really wanted was...you to be happy..."

Jay was panting now from the strain of talking. "And..." he said. "and you're so strong, and you're kind, and you're sweet, and you're _you."_

"And you're everything to me."

It was then that Jay looked at Nya, and their eyes met. In her eyes were tears, glossed over her eyes that caught in the Moonlight. She didn't say a word, but Jay knew what she was thinking.

"Nya..." he said. "Nya, there's nothing that you have to do. Nothing to worry about. I just wanted you to know, because I don't know how much time left we have. I don't even know...if we're going to make it. I know you're devoted to Zane. I understand."

"Jay..." Nya cried, and a sob escaped her throat. "Jay, I can't...I don't..."

"I know, Nya." said Jay, as he watched more and more tears fall down Nya's face. "I know."

"I'm sorry..." said Nya, as she tried to hold back more tears.

"I know..." Jay said, and looked away. He couldn't bear it anymore. "I know you are."


	31. Found in the Woods

The pounding was as loud as drums. It was a continuous beat, loud, and completely unbearable.

Cole's head was hunched over, his dark hair hung over his eyes, hiding his shame, and hiding his fear. His legs felt like rubber, shaking as he walked, and Cole feared they would buckle underneath him.

Turans surrounded the boy. They were screaming and shouting with joy, some throwing rocks at him, happy to see him take his walk of shame, the walk to his death. A clawed and furred hand was wrapped around Cole's arm firmly, making sure the prisoner didn't escape.

"Take him to the cliff!" Turans cried out in the large throng. "Throw him off!"

The soldiers holding Cole ignored them, only facing forward, but the boy knew their intentions were to do just as what the crowd wanted them to do. They will throw him off of the canyon, and that was going to be it.

The pounding in Cole's ears got louder, and louder, and were bursting in his ear as he emerged from the entrance of the cave and faced the steep side of the cliff.

Cole's heart was pounding, and his stomach hurt from the fear and the big hole inside.

The Turans had moved outside, still continuing their yelling, and some now raising weapons, as if to show that the boy was going to die no matter what the guards did.

The Turan holding Cole forced him closer to the edge, so close that rocks fell from his feet and tumbled down into the steep cliff. Shouts from the Turans grew stronger as they told the guard to throw him over already. To end him.

Cole whimpered. He had never been so scared in his life. This was it. He looked down again, waiting for the guard's push down the cliff.

Suddenly, a thud echoed everywhere. It came from the cliffside.

Cole looked closer, but there was nothing there. Then suddenly, a face appeared right in front of him as the figure landed, it's eyes staring into the boy's soul. With a shout, the other Turans pointed their weapons at the creature, but it only stared at Cole. It didn't say a word.

"What do you want?" Cole asked, as brave as he could.

"Cole, it's me."

"...Kai?"

It was Kai. Cole hadn't recognized his face because the moon had cast a shadow, blocking it. And although Cole had believed it'd be best not to accept Kai, the boy couldn't be happier seeing him.

Kai got in front of Cole, guarding him from the Turan's spears and knives they threw at the boy. Then Kai grabbed his arm.

"Are you ready, Cole?" Kai asked, his eyes almost playful. "Hang on to me. Tight."

Cole nodded and wrapped his arms around Kai's torso. Kai leapt high and far, away from the angry screams of the Turans.

* * *

Jay and Nya almost reached the top, clinging on to the spare and protruding rocks from the cliffside. They were completely silent, the only sounds between them the occasional grunt and the scrape of rock.

Neither wanted to talk about their conversation.

Jay only looked up. He refused to look at the girl beside him, and only focused on the top of the cliff. To get there alive.

"...Jay..."

"Not now, Nya."

"Jay, I'm s-"

"Sorry?"

Jay's voice was sharp and almost angry, nearly sending Nya to tears. She felt horrible.

"Look, Nya, I meant it. I did. I do love you. And I've known for a while that you didn't feel the same, you only belong to Zane."

"That's not true, Jay! I belong to no one! And you don't love me. It's a crush. No one is in love with me!"

"I am, Nya. I've had about five years to figure out my feelings for you, and I know it's not just a crush, okay? Can we just drop it?"

It was silent again. And the space between them built with things that they didn't say, that they didn't want to

say. Neither wanted to ruin their friendship any further. Then there was a thud. A scraping. They looked down.

The Turans below were cheering wildly. A Turan was climbing up, a thirst in his eyes, something so strong that they could see even from the distance between them and the monster.

"Climb!" Nya cried, and she quickly anchored her feet and vigorously climbed. She gripped on to all of the ledges that she could find, and so did Jay. But the Turan climbed quicker, gaining speed, and breaking the distance between them. He was covering more of the cliff in seconds than they had in an hour.

"We've got to go!" Jay yelled, who was trying as quickly as possible to climb as well. The Turan was coming, and neither of the two liked the glint in his eyes at all.

Nya pointed. "Look! Jay, the top is right there. We just have to get to it. Come on,"  
Then there was a crumbling. The cliff shook, and the two struggled to hang on.  
Jay looked at Nya, tears of fear streaking from their faces, and their expressions petrified.

And she reminded him of the day on the cliff, looking at ice, and the tide turning and almost drowning Nya. It had seemed so long ago, when all they had to worry about was packing for the Dark Island. And those days when all they looked forward to was the Carnival of the Dead, and all that Nya feared was that Kai may not ever be nice to her again.

Everything had changed. Everything.

Jay was brought out from his trance as the cliff gave an even mightier shake, almost sending him falling. He looked down.

There was suddenly a flood of thousands of Turans, stretched across almost the entire canyon floor, pounding on the cliff and making it shake.

"They're trying to make us fall!" Nya exclaimed, and determination set into her eyes. "Let's go! And hang on!"

But hanging on was one of the hardest things they had to do. The cliff shook violently, and the two knew that they were in trouble. It was like an angry earthquake, one that seemed it would never stop.

They almost didn't notice the rope, worn and battered, drop down in front of them. Quickly they grabbed it, and climbed with all of their might, only resting when they reached the top.

The two lay on the floor, and only then did they realize how sore they were.

Their arms felt like rubber and their fingers looked white and worn. Their legs were lead, and they could barely feel them. The two had just done a three hour climb.

Two pairs of arms wrapped around them, and when Nya saw talons gleaming in the light, she screamed. But then she realized it was her brother, and little Cole smiling at them.

"Kai!" Nya cried, her arms thrown around her brother, ignoring the fur growing on his figure. Never had she

been so happy to see him, not to mention Cole.

Jay was crying tears of joy as he hugged his brother, glad that he was alright. He looked at Cole in the eyes, then he looked around.

"Where's Zane?" Jay asked.

"We don't know," Kai said, sounding upset. "We've looked everywhere. Cole said that Zane had escaped, and he almost died because he wouldn't give the information he didn't know."

"Cole's okay," Kai added quickly when he saw Jay's face. "But if we are going to find Zane, we have to go, now. I want to get off of this island."

All four nodded their head in agreement.

They were more than ready, after all that they had been through.

* * *

They found Zane after a long hour of searching.

He was lying down behind a tree, and he was only visible because he had been draped in a bright red sheet which seemed to melt into the dirt, soaking the soil.

And then as they got closer, they all realized with a violent jolt that it wasn't a sheet.

It was blood.

Nya screamed out Zane's name, agonizing, and pushed past her stunned companions. She ran to him, who was still lying very very still and had not yet moved.

She'd shaken him back and forth as hard as she could, her sobs getting louder and louder as she begged for Zane to wake up.

Then Nya's elbow had bumped hard on something sticking out from Zane's stomach, and she had looked to see what it was.

It was a knife, stabbed and sunk right through his skin and into his organs. Zane had been impaled by his own knife, _with his fingers wrapped around it,_ and now he wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing, and he needed to breathe.

Nya took out the knife from inside of Zane's body, and tossed it away, not looking to see where it landed. She immediately got to trying to push air into Zane's body, her sobs and screams getting gradually louder.

Nya felt hands grab her shoulders, trying to hoist her up, but Nya couldn't have it. She thrashed them away, not caring about anything else but bringing Zane back to life.

Kai was on one side while Jay was on the other, both trying to push her away from the bloodied vessel on the forest floor. Kai was burying his face into Nya's shoulder, and Nya could feel the wetness of her brother's tears there.

Nya's eyes couldn't leave the sight of her dead boyfriend's, and used all of her strength to push away from her brother and friend. She sprinted back to Zane, and threw herself on top of his body, not caring if she got a bit of blood on her body from doing so.

And instead of trying to push Zane back to life, Nya collapsed, and wrapped her arms around the dead boy. She pulled away, trying hard to look at the face that she had known, and had loved.

But Zane was gone, forever.

And Nya knew the truth. They all did.

It was self-inflicted. The angle that they had all just found it in confirmed that. There's no way that a Turan would use a knife to kill.

Nya looked at Zane, tears still flowing violently down her cheeks.

 _Why did you do it, Zane?_ she asked, before breaking down again.


	32. Son

It began to rain as the remaining four began to bury Zane.

It was quiet, and the rain around them fell and slid down their teary faces, though they didn't notice, nor did they care. Nya ran her hand down Zane's dead eyes, closing them, and he looked like he was sleeping peacefully.

Kai and Jay had dug a hole which was about five feet deep, lifted Zane's body, and laid him in the hole. They didn't have the heart to bury him completely with dirt.

The four surrounded the large hole, trying not to look at his lifeless face, or his bloodied body. Cole had his face buried in Jay's leg as he clutched it. Kai looked straight ahead, not daring to look at his dead friend. Jay had tears running down his face, sobbing as quietly as possible.

And Nya.

On the outside, she looked monotonous, her face looking as lifeless as Zane's did. But on the inside was turmoil. Despair. Heartbreak.

Why did he do it? What had she done wrong?

Nya let a few tears flow down her face, holding back as much as she could from sobbing and screaming.

 _Why? What did she do?_

Jay looked over at Nya. She had an emotionless face, but her eyes said all that she felt. It broke his heart.

Nya flinched when Jay rested his hand on her shoulder. He looked at her with the same teary eyes as she had. She looked back, and didn't say a word.

Jay wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug, and immediately, Nya began crying.

She sobbed.

She cried.

She shook with tears, and she struggled to hold herself up. But Jay continued to hold her, squeezing her tighter, supporting her.

Because God knows it was what she needed.

* * *

The burial took too long.

Before they all knew it, Turans surrounded them all over again, and tied them with ropes.

They could not escape again.

The four were sat down, trapped, legs and wrists tied, as Overlord appeared among the Turans, his subjects.

 _"Well now we know where our prisoner went, yes?"_ Overlord said, looking at Zane's body, his scarred face in a grimace. _"Good_ _riddance. He was just a burden anyway."_

Nya fought herself to not kick Overlord where the sun don't shine.

"You bastard!" Jay cried. "You said we'd be free if we climbed that god-forsaken cliff! We're free!"

 _"Not on my terms."_ Overlord replied. _"And that was before you actually made it. I honestly thought you'd fail. So consider this as punishment for proving me wrong."_

The four grit their teeth as the Overlord paced over to Zane's body and began examining it.

 _"And I see you've buried him...yes...how sweet."_ Disgust and slime droned from the Overlord's voice, making the others grimace and narrow their eyes in anger. _"And what an injury...it's almost as if...oh, yes...he_ did, _didn't he?"_

Then Overlord leaned down, looking into Nya's eyes, which were full of anger. _"God knows what you're feeling right now. Your friend, taking his own life. Wondering what it must have been like for him to do that? Neglect? Fear? Or perhaps...you all_ _drove him, and you didn't even know it!"_

Nya spat in his face, and quickly Overlord pulled out a knife from behind him and lifted it to Nya's neck.

 _"And aren't you wondering...what you are going to tell his parents?"_ Overlord asked, his mouth spreading into an ugly smile. _"That he killed himself? That he stuck a knife through his own body? That he is dead?"_

"Shut up!" Nya cried.

 _"Well isn't it true?"_ Overlord asked. _"Isn't that what he did? Isn't that what you provoked him to do?"_

"NO!"

 _"No? Then what, my dear, did? If it wasn't you, any of you, like you say, what do_ you _think did?"_

"I don't know!"

 _"YOU DON'T KNOW!"_

Suddenly Overlord slapped Nya, hard, and his talons scratched her face lightly. She cried out.

The others didn't say anything. They couldn't; it wouldn't help.

Nya held back her sobs as the Overlord walked around the circle, staring at each and every one of the remaining four. _"I can smell your fear,"_ he growls, his face stretched in a hideous grin. _"It's my favorite, you know,"_

They don't utter a word. The Overlord laughs.

 _"You puny idiots,"_ he said. _"You were never a match for me. Not even though you were one of us,"_

The Overlord points to Kai, who immediately looks down. _"You broke the rules. You were supposed to leave. On the boats. That was how it was supposed to be. The way that it's been for Nights."_

He leaned down suddenly, so he could stare into Cole's eyes. It nearly brought the poor boy to tears.

 _"Do you know of Ninjago' history, children?"_ asked Overlord. _"Do you know of..._ our _history?"_

None of them spoke.

Overlord came closer to Cole's face so their noses were almost touching.

 _"They were all lies."_

Kai could see all of their confused faces. Though, he wasn't surprised. Misako had told him everything. He knew everything. Kai barely listened as Overlord told them all about it.

The deal.

The punishment.

Everything Kai already knew, but the others didn't.

Then Overlord glanced at Kai. _"You,"_ he said. _"I know you already know this."_

"How?"

 _"My daughter told you, didn't she? When she was missing. She was speaking...to you."_

Kai didn't speak. He only looked at the Overlord.

Then he walked toward Kai and knelt down in front of him and stared at him with intense eyes.

 _"She didn't tell you everything, you know."_ said the Overlord. _"She didn't tell you about who your real parents are. It isn't your Day-dwellers you call your parents."_

"I kind of figured."

 _"Then you know who they are, yes?"_

He didn't. And he wasn't sure he wanted to. He didn't speak.

 _"My daughter...Misako. She told you how she fell in love with a...human man, yes?"_ Overlord began.

"Yes. I saw the cave drawings." said Kai.

 _"The cave drawings. Yes."_

 _"They painted that before their Night ended, you know."_

The Overlord paused, then said. _"While she was telling you this...did you wonder what it had to do with you?"_

Kai stayed silent. He let the Overlord talk.

 _"I'll bet you did."_ he said. _"I'll bet you asked her, too. But she didn't say anything. She was hiding something, wasn't she?"_

Kai remained silent, but his heart was beating out of his chest.

No.

No, it can't be.

As if reading his mind, the Overlord said, _"It is. Kai."_

 _"My grandson."_

 _This couldn't be real. This isn't real._ Kai thought frantically. _No. No._

A rustle in the branches. A part in the crowd.

And there was Misako.

 _"Kai, it's true. Everything my father says...is true."_

 _"You are my son."_


	33. Dirt Drawings, 16 Years Ago

**Sixteen Years Ago**

* * *

Rain began pelting down on the couple's heads as they ran through Ninjago's thick forest. Leaves bit at their faces and their legs, scratching them, leaving blood. But they couldn't stop. Not until the baby in the woman's arms was safe.

Thousands of footsteps and thumps were heard from behind the man and the woman holding the baby, and leaves fell from the trees above as creatures ran on the treetops. It was the Turans.

They were after them.

"Misako!" the man whispered. "Watch out! Don't stop,"

Misako said nothing to her husband. She knew how dire the situation was. She knew her family were the creatures that were chasing them. The creatures that were ordered by her father to capture her and bring her home.

They knew nothing about the man running beside her. They didn't know he existed, and both wanted to keep it that way.

"There!" she cried. "Isn't that your house?"

The human man's house stood alone in the middle of the forest. It was made of wood and hay, and small enough to only fit the two of them.

"Yes," the man replied. "Hurry. We need to hide there."

Her husband burst down the door as soon as they arrived and ran to the empty guest room. The baby in the woman's arms was crying, and Misako tried to quiet him down.

"Sh, sh." she soothed, and the baby whimpered. "It's okay, it's okay, baby. Be quiet, now, or the monsters will come for us,"

At this the baby quieted down. After a moment, he then busied himself with making bubbles with his mouth. When they popped, he giggled. Misako laughed with him. "That's a good baby." she said. "That's a good baby."

"Mimi!" her husband called from the other room. "Come on! Hurry!"

Misako, practically jogging, dropped down into the chute with her baby boy in her arms. She lay him in one arm and got down on her stomach, ready to crawl with one arm through the chute. Then she looked up.

"Come on!" she called to her husband. "Hurry! I can hear them coming!"

But her husband gave her a look, one that sent Misako's young heart to her stomach. "No. No, you're coming with me. You are coming with your son,"

"No, I'm not, Mimi." he said, and reached down and took her furry hand. Misako looked back up at the young man with tears in her eyes.

"Don't leave me." she said. "Don't leave us. We need you."

"I'm sorry." he replied, the same tears glossing his eyes. "There's nothing I can do. Your father is coming soon, and so is my brother. You are not safe with me. We are not safe with each other."

"Yes, but we're happy!"

"Misako!" the man said. "We have to think about our baby now. Our baby boy. The only happiness and safety that matters is the one of our son."

Misako let out a stifled sob. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave the man that she married and had a baby with. She didn't want to go back to be a prisoner to her father and be forcefully married to his co-ruler Garmadon. She didn't want to go back to that life.

She wanted to start a new one, with her husband and her baby.

But the look in her husband's eyes as he looked down at her told her that it wasn't going to happen. That everything she wanted had to be put second, for the sake of her boy.

Misako rubbed her thumb against her husband's hand lovingly, the baby in her arms quiet, not daring to make a noise. He didn't even understand that his own father wasn't going to be with him again.

"I'm sorry, Mimi. I love you, so much. I don't care if you're a Turan. I don't care that I'm human. I love you. I always will. I'll wait for you, and I'll wait for my brother. I promise you." Misako's husband said, sobbing slightly. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Misako replied, tears rolling down her furred face. "And I'll take care of our baby. For us."

The man slowly let go of his wife's hand and shut the trap door.

* * *

Misako burst through the end of the trapdoor, and wasted no time in breaking into a run. With her tuned hearing, she could still hear the beating of her family's hearts and their pounding footsteps. Shadows came and then quickly went as the Turans scampered across the trees, momentarily blocking the moonlight.

The female Turan ran on her taloned feet across the dirt with the half human, half Turan boy in her arms. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she was running away from danger.

Eventually, a cave came into Misako's view, and she bolted toward it. Once she got inside she lit a spare match she had kept and lit a pile of twigs. She set the baby on a large boiler and travelled to the back of the cave for more supplies that perhaps might be useful.

But instead was just dirt and a wall that closed in as the end of the cave. Without knowing why, Misako stared at it, tears coming into her eyes. She was thinking about her husband, and about leaving him for the sake of her child. The woman began to sob.

All that she really wanted was to have a family. She didn't want have a family with Garmadon. She didn't want the arranged marriage. What she wanted was her husband and her son's father. A family.

Misako then, without thinking, picked up dirt and carefully sketched on the cave wall in front of her. She brushed dirt with her fingers, creating a picture, of a tall male figure and a shorter female one. The two stood together, smiling, the woman figure with fur at her face and her husband holding a spear. At the picture she laughed, tears rolling down her face.

She would never forget drawing in the cave that night.

Misako then walked back to her baby and picked him up. He began to cry, hungry, and clung to his mother with his chubby hands.

 _I barely knew him for eleven months._ Misako thought sadly. _And his father...he's never going to see his boy again._

Tears fell from Misako's eyes.

 _I only wish your father Wu could see you now, Kai._


	34. The Rapids: Part I

**Present**

* * *

Kai woke up to the rough sound of slicing. He cracked his eyes open, barely peeking, and opened them wide when he realized what was happening.

"Misako!" Kai whispered to her, who was slicing through the ropes. "What are you doing?"

 _"I am freeing you,"_ Misako replied casually, as if it was supposed to be obvious. _"You don't deserve to be here. You don't deserve this life."_

"What are you talking about?" Kai asked, nearly exasperated. "What life?"

 _"My father is plotting to free you and then turn you all into his slaves. If you remain here, you can never leave. You will remain in the same fate as I."_ Misako replied gravely, then as soon as her knife successfully cut through the first rope, she moved on to the next.

"No, no...stop," Kai said, grabbing her wrist to stop her from cutting. "Misako, what does he do?"

 _"Kai, it does not matter."_ Misako replied. _"You are in danger. I can not let you stay. Especially..."_

Misako drifted off and ceased talking, but Kai still knew what she was thinking.

She must free him, especially since Kai is her son.

 _"There is a boat by the Pond of Shimmers. Take it. The lake leads to the rapids. Sail through it, and you will be in the open ocean. Take north, and eventually you will end up at the Dark Island."_

Misako looked at her son as she said this, as if it was the most vital words that Kai was ever going to hear, which it probably was.

"But...I don't want to leave without you." Kai told her. "Not if you're my mother. You've been away my whole life. I don't want to spend any more time like that. With you not around."

 _"I have always been around, Kai,"_ Misako told him. _"And I always will. I will always be your mother, and nothing will change that."_

Misako then sliced through the last rope and Kai felt the annoying pinch on his skin fall away with the restraint. _"Now go, Kai. I'll untie your friends. And you have to go. Remember, to the Pond of Shimmers. Sail down the rapids. Go North. Remember."_

Kai nodded and stood up. Then he wrapped his arms around his mother's torso, feeling their fur mix on their own bodies, and the two Turans sighed.

"I'll miss you stalking me in my room, you know." Kai said, chuckling. Misako smiled as she let go of her son.

 _"And I'll miss stalking you,"_ she replied, laughing. She grabbed Kai's shoulders, careful not to dig into them with her talons. _"Now go. Your friends will meet you at the pond. The lookout crew should be sleeping right now, so for now you are safe."_

Kai nodded, and turned to go. Then he turned around again to face his mother.

And Mistako saw clearly the question he's been wanting to ask, and the want for it to be answered.

 _"Wu,"_ she said. _"It is Wu. We were young, and we had to separate because we weren't safe with each other."_

 _"Just before Night ended and the Sun was about to come up, I placed you on a rock by the shore with the sapphire that Wu had given me in your blankets. I watched your Day-dweller parents take you with that newborn girl Nya into their home. I watched over you everyday."_

"... _Wu?"_ Kai asked with disbelief. "But...he was so..."

 _"Old? No, he wasn't. The lonely life ages you. He is about the same age as I am. When I heard that he died, that my father killed him, I was heartbroken. The father of my child...dead."_

Kai's world fell just a little at these words.

When he had found out the gruesome details about the findings of Wu's body, he felt sympathy for the old man and for Nya, Jay and Zane to have seen it. But now that he knew that had been his own father...

Kai said nothing in response. He was lost in thought, and lost in grief. How could he not have known his own _father?_

"Thank you, Misako." Kai finally said, smiling at his mother. "I hope I'll see you again."

 _"Same, Kai."_ she replied.

Then Kai took off running.

* * *

It wasn't long until Nya, Jay and Cole came running toward Kai, who was waiting at the pond with the boat.

"You guys okay?" Kai asked, and the three nodded.

"Fine," Nya replied. "That the boat?"

Kai nodded and gestured to it.

"Yep. It's what's gonna get us out of here. But we should probably hurry." he said, and got into the front of the boat. Jay lifted his brother into the middle, and sat himself in the back. He barely noticed when Nya sat next to him.

"Now we're going to be entering the rapids..." Kai cautioned. "It's going to get really bumpy, so I need you all to hang on. Make sure no one falls in, and make sure the boat doesn't hit any rocks. Clear? Good."

Then taking an oar, Kai pushed the boat off of the shore, and rowed across the lake. Cole and Jay did the same while Nya kept watch, making sure they weren't being followed.

The ride was quiet. All that they heard was a few Night insects chirping and twitting. None heard any other sound, besides their breathing and the sound of the water sloshing as Kai, Cole, and Jay rowed.

As they neared the rapids, Jay reached down below his feet, pulled out an extra oar and handed it to Nya. He barely looked at her.

"We'll need you to help push the boat away from the rocks," was all that Jay said. "The rapids are tough. But it'll be over soon enough, if the Turans don't come after us."

"Got it." Nya replied, and clutched her oar. She looked down into the water to see her reflection.

Her face was covered in dust and dirt. Her hair was in chaos, and sweat glistened everywhere visible, even around her eyes. Bags under her eyes only reminded her how little she's slept since Night began.

And the empty sitting spot in front of her reminded her of what she's lost.

"Almost to the rapids," Kai's voice calls out. "Nya?"

"Oh," Nya said, snapping to reality. "Right. Yeah, I'll be ready."

The entrance to the rapids was small. They four had to use their oars to squeeze the boat through the opening, and then they were off.

It was easy at first. The water was smooth but quick, but it was something that the four could handle.

Then the boat ran right into a big rock, causing a loud scraping noise, and it threw them up.

It only became more difficult from there.

More big rocks appeared, and they all had to be quick to push the boat away. It knocked them all around, like they were balls in a ping pong table, tossed back and forth, sending them screaming.

A roar shook the forest behind them, and they turned. Their hearts stopped.

Only one creature could cause a sound like that.

Then it appeared. They could all see it's bright purple eyes, even though they were almost half mile from the shore. It roared again.

The Turans were never going to give up on catching them.

But the kids will never give up on returning home.


	35. Rapids: Part II

"They're coming!" Cole cried, tears of fear threatening to fall. "Row!"

That's exactly what they were doing, and frantically. They practically stabbed rocks to push the boat away, and to stay in the rapids.

The Turan's roars were deafening compared to the silence that had previously filled the air. It made the four's hearts pound and their stomachs hurt with anxiety.

Cole's eyes widened as he turned to look behind him. It looked as if the entire Turan tribe was after them. They flooded the woods, and the land beside the rapids. The Turans stared at the children with their bright purple eyes, only making the chase more unnerving. It was a sight the four had trouble looking at, and trouble looking away from.

The rapids were becoming more violent. Water sloshed into the boat, soaking them all, and blinding their eyes. Their hearts beat heavily, fearfully, and all that filled their minds was getting away, getting to safety, and getting to the Dark Island. To their families.

Roars reverberated throughout the forest, echoing, filled with anger. Their steps thundered off of the ground on the land beside the four, who were frantically trying to row across the rapids.

A splash. Then two. Then growls.

Nya looked to her side, and gasped when she saw the horrifying purple eyes of the Turans looking at them above the water. The creatures seemed unaffected from the rushing rapids, and swam closer to the boat.

"Go! They're coming into the water!" Nya cried, and clutching her oar, she attempted to stab at one of them. They drew back, and ducked below the water. But Nya could see their black shape swimming under the water and around the boat.

But while Nya was looking at the water, there was a deafening growl above her, and she looked up. There was a thud, and the boat rocked violently, making it a challenge for the four to keep their bodies on the boat.

Nya looked up, and screamed as she realized that the only thing staring back at her was a Turan. It roared fiercely, air blowing at Nya, and she shut her eyes. Jay, who was beside her, pushed the Turan into the water with his shoulder, away from Nya.

But then before the Turan could fall, it's long talons cut a hole in Nya's already slightly ripped pocket.

The pocket holding the sapphire.

Nya and Jay watched with horror as the blue gem clattered on the edge of the boat before falling into the water, sinking below the rapids.

"NO!" Nya cried, and before Jay could stop her, she hopped out of the boat and into the rocky and shallow water. Nya frantically tried to find it, looking for it's signature blue hue, and found it underneath a rock.

Just as the girl reached for it, she felt a force push her into the water, and felt her skin cut against the rocks. Above her stood another angry Turan, who had pushed her, and it growled, baring it's talons.

Nya growled back and hopped back up, before nailing a punch to the Turan's face, making the creature slip and fall.

Then hurriedly Nya grabbed the gem and raced towards the boat, which was racing away with the current.

Nya's heart beat like a drum as she used the energy that she had left to get to the boat with the sapphire clutched in her hand. Jay was staring at her from the back with an unreadable look, but from what she could tell, he was not happy.

Finally reaching the boat, Nya hopped back in and shoved the gem into her unripped pocket.

"Nya!" Kai yelled from the front. "Are you okay? What the hell were you thinking?"

"We'll talk about this later!" Nya respond, grabbing the oar. She noticed how Jay didn't even bother to look at her. "We have to go! I can see the end!"

The rapids cut off at sharp rocks ahead, which couldn't be more than a hundred yards away. Nya paddled in the shallow water, trying desperately to get away.

And then...

It was over.

The boat went over the falls, off the rapids, and then landed roughly in the ocean below. The four could hear the angry yells and groans of their enemies, who hadn't been able to complete their mission.

The four never stopped rowing. None of them said a word. All that they knew was that they still were not safe. The Turans could still jump over the falls and come after them. It wasn't over until they reached the Dark Island, and they knew that.

But somehow, the Turans never came. Perhaps the creatures believed there would be other times to capture their enemies.

* * *

By this time Ninjago was far behind them, sinking from view.

It was then that Jay grabbed the sapphire from Nya and began to yell.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, making his brother and Kai turn around. Jay held the gem to Nya's face, inches from her eyes.

"It's..." Nya began, unable to find words. She had hoped this moment had never come.

"Guys, what's going on?" Kai demanded.

Jay swerved toward Cole and Kai with an infuriated look on his face. He held it up to them for the two to inspect. "Look familiar?" he asked, and both he and Nya watched as Kai and Cole's eyes widened with recognition.

"...is that..." Cole asked, before his brother cut him off.

"Yes," Jay fumed. "The gem. The sapphire, that supposedly _slipped off_ of Nya's finger that day, at the pond. The sapphire that _I left_ my _brother for._ And the sapphire that put us on the island in the first place. This gem was the reason that we were _stuck there."_

Then Jay corrected himself. "No." He turned to Nya with a look of anger, one that broke Nya' heart. "No, SHE is the one responsible! She was the one who stranded us! Alone! Away from our families! Away from safety! Away from the Dark Island! Nya, this is ALL YOUR FAULT! Everything is all of your fault! IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT ZANE IS DEAD!"

Nya audibly gasped, and tears came to her eyes. Her heart stopped as she looked into Jay's eyes.

They were obviously not Jay.

"I-I'm sorry..." Nya said, barely audible. "I'm so, so sorry..."

"Nya..." Kai spoke up. He looked at Nya not with anger, but with hurt. "Nya, is this true? Did you...did you _hide this?"_

Nya said nothing.

Then Jay rolled up his sleeve and showed his arm to Nya. She widened her eyes at the sight.

There was a horrible cut on Jay's arm, puss beginning to overflow from it, and dried blood accumulated around it. It was obvious Jay tried to apply Gamot on it, but it had not helped.

"This, too!" Jay said. "This is your fault. I went back for the gem, Nya. I went back for you. I wanted you to remember me with the gem. I wanted you to think I was a _hero._ Well while I was looking for it, I fell into that trap, and I scratched my arm. I've been in pain ever since. And still. _You said nothing."_

Nya cast her eyes downward, squeezing them shut, not daring to look at neither her brother or her two friends. And she noticed how Cole said nothing.

Because Jay was right.

It was her fault that Cole, an innocent boy, went through what he had. It was her fault that Jay had that horrible gash on his arm. It was her fault that they were all away from their families. And yes, she was responsible for Zane's death.

If she had just told them she had had it, all those months ago, they would be with their families, and Zane would be alive.

None of the boys met Nya's eye. Even Cole looked away, and only stared at the dark ocean water beneath the boat as it sailed. Not a word was said.

How were they ever going to forgive her?


	36. The End of the Journey

The rest of the ride was dreadfully quiet. The only sound anywhere around the remaining four was the slosh of the water as their oars dug into the water and lifted out, tugging the boat along.

Nya was quietly and utterly distressed. She hugged herself as she looked down into the smooth-surfaced ocean below the small boat, and at her reflection. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, and her lip visibly quivered slightly.

Her back was to her peers, trying to force herself to not look at them, to not speak to them.

It's not like they'd want to either.

Jay's eyes were angry slits. Like Nya, his back was to her, refusing to even glance at her. He couldn't. Because, he had meant what he said. Everything was her fault. She was the reason…for _everything._

Kai denied everything in his mind. His sister…she didn't do it. She couldn't have. She herself couldn't have been responsible for everything that's happened. She is not the reason why one of his best friends is dead. She didn't do it.

Cole was the only one who did dare to look at Nya. In fact, he couldn't help but stare at her. He didn't feel betrayed or angry, like how he thought he should feel. What Cole felt was...pity. Pity that Nya had to endure the secret for so long. He pitied her that the entire boat, sans him, hated her for keeping this secret. And Cole pitied her for holding the entire blame on her own shoulders.

Because the thing is, Jay didn't have to go back for the gem. Jay didn't have to get hurt. He didn't have to keep Kai and Nya from the boats, and forced Cole to look for them.

Really, it was nobody's fault. It was something that had happened. It was a problem, yes, but it's gone now. They were on their way to their families. They were away from that horrid island that was filled with the monstrosities that forced Zane to die.

Their blaming was irrational and it lacked judgement.

Cole just wished they all could see that.

* * *

"Watch the sails! Get the oars! NOW!"

Kai frantically yelled from the front of the boat as the four scrambled to keep the boat afloat.

A storm had come from nowhere, escalating quickly from a few raindrops to a tempest of heavy wind and rain. The waves climbed to a monstrous height. They loomed over the boat before crashing down on them, soaking them.

The sails on the small boat swayed and bent with the howling winds, and Jay and Cole struggled to hold it down. Kai and Nya frantically tried to hold on to the oars as they tried hard to steer the boat to safety. But the clouds made it too dark to see and the rain was blinding. The Moon was no longer there to help them.

"Nya!" Kai called to his sister. "Nya, use the sapphire!"

"What?" she asked. "How's it going to help us?"

"Remember?" Kai replied. "Remember what Wu said? The sapphires of Ninjago are enchanted! It'll help us get out!"

Nya, suddenly recalling this, reached into her pocket and rubbed the gem with her thumb. It was wet from the heavy rain, but it gleamed, though there was no Moon.

And she knew it would work.

Nya held it up to the stormy sky, and suddenly, the gem gleamed like a beacon, it's beam of light pointing straight ahead.

"That way!" Nya called above the winds. "We've got to go that way!"

"Everybody hold on!" Jay cried and took Cole under his arm, and he pulled the sail's ropes. The sails caught the wind, and it propelled the boat faster, following the beam of light.

But something was happening.

Something with the tide.

It was pulling away from under the boat, and gathering itself in front of them.

Nya and the others looked up in terror as the tide pulling away formed the biggest wave they've ever seen. It loomed above them, it's dark and terrible waters lighting up quickly as the lightning cast itself across the black sky.

The wave grew and grew as more water pulled away from under the boat. The four stared at it, agape, and with fear.

Then suddenly the wave stopped growing, and pointed itself downward as it broke.

It crashed into the boat, and hammered onto the four kids, rushing them all with heavy sea water.

And then everything went black.

* * *

Nya cracked her eyes open, and immediately, she coughed. Her nose felt like it was on fire, and her hair and entire body was soaked to the bone. She was lying down on wood, in a small space. It felt as though it was moving.

What was she doing there?

Nya sat up, but her head and back protested against it. She looked around.

She was in a boat, surrounded by three other bodies, two boys and one small child.

It took Nya a moment to remember who the bodies were, and what happened.

Being left behind. Being captured. Climbing the impossible climb, up the side of a cliff, with Jay. And finding Zane when he had died, his blood on his clothes, and with no pulse.

Nya's heart shrunk and she choked at the painful memory. She remembered it all.

She remembered the gem, and how it tore her relationships apart. She still had no idea how they would ever forgive her.

Nya forced her head to stop spinning, and her stomach not to empty it's contents. Whatever had had knocked her out had really taken a toll on her. It had almost killed her and she was lucky to be alive.

Once she could see clearer, Nya looked at her surroundings.

Jay was passed out next to her, with his arm over his brother Cole. Kai was leaning his head against the edge of the boat, snoring away. Jay's gash that he had gotten on the island was open, and the puss had been washed away. They all looked as soaked as she did.

Then Nya realized where they were.

Behind the boat was nothing but ocean. Empty ocean, with nothing in sight.

But what was in front of them made Nya's heart jump.

There was an island, covered with sand, trees, and grass, along with several hundred tents and kiosks. There were tables of items and merchandise on racks, and with a bustle of people in the market. The island was filled with people, talking and laughing.

Then they turned and they noticed the boat.

Nya stared at the crowd that soon gathered around the beach when the damaged boat with a broken sail was discovered. She grabbed at the oars and paddled the boat toward the shore, where there was a commotion.

And then a woman emerged from the crowd with tears in her eyes and her arms outstretched. She seemed to be yelling and screaming, but of joy.

It was Timbue, Nya and Kai's mother, who hadn't seen her children for almost three months.

The boat couldn't have gotten to the shore fast enough. As soon as the boat was close enough, Timbue ran into the water and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Nya shook Jay, Cole, and Kai up, and immediately, they knew that they had made it.

They were on the Dark Island, with their families.

Timbue helped the four out of the boat and led them to the shore. Many hugged Timbue in congratulations, and others expressed how relieving it was to see they were alright.

And then others asked where Zane was.

And when the four had to tell them the news, the crowd parted, making way for Zane's mother to come through.

She didn't say anything. She only looked at Nya with tears in her eyes, which Nya shared. Without exchanging words, the two hugged, wrapped in each other's arms in grief.

* * *

There was a proper funeral for Zane in the center of town. Most of the men from the Dark Island visited to attend, including Zane's father and his other friends.

A tombstone was made in honor of him, with a big picture his mother had provided by the stone.

Nya cried. Her shoulders shook with despair, and with guilt. Because it was her fault. It was her responsibility that so many people that day were guilty and miserable. If she hadn't thought of herself….

An arm wrapped around her. Nya looked up and saw that it was her brother Kai, who looked down at his sister with sympathy. They said nothing as they embraced, yet it communicated so much.

Timbue and Michael, her parents, hugged their son and daughter after the funeral. They didn't seem at all bothered at Kai's appearance. It seemed as though…they knew the whole time. At least a part of them.

"Are you ready?" Timbue asked Nya. "We still haven't been able to show you around."

Nya forced a smile. "No thanks, Mom…maybe another time. I really just want to be alone."

Both Michael and Timbue nodded in understanding, and Nya entered the small hut, and shut the door.

The island had taken a toll on her life, and the other three. They will never, ever be the same, and will forever remain in their minds.

They gained so much, and lost more.

Their innocence.

Their relationships.

Their childhood.

And Zane.

Their best friend.

The experience will never fade away. It won't be easy to forget it.

But perhaps they will survive it. Perhaps they will move past it and live their lives.

Perhaps.

 **HI, KaitheHotHead1 HERE. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY! THERE IS A SEQUAL, CALLED DARK SAND. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT! I APPRECIATE IT! HOPE YOU'LL ENJOY IT!**

 **SEE YOU THERE!**

 **-KTH1**


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